Road to Healing
by 2MindsMake1
Summary: Summary: Bruce takes Dick on a business trip. Things start to go wrong and as the hours pass by, and they realize they'll both need to take a road to healing if they want to return home.....
1. Chapter 1

**Road to Healing**

by:

OneMind

_Disclaimer: We don't own them, we don't make money off them, we just love them._

_Summary: Bruce takes Dick on a bussiness trip. Things start to go wrong and as the hours pass by, they realize they'll need to take a road to healing if they want to return home..._

_Characters: Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson_

_ This is one of many fics to come from OneMind._

* * *

_First, a little background information. Our names are Kanny Ruiz and Christine Wood. Kanny lives in Spain and I, in Georgia, USA. It's was a challange at first to put together our first story (which we will post in the near future). Regardless, we had a lot of fun and found it amazing how fast we figured out a system. We now work together like a well-oiled machine._

_We are excited about the different ideas we share with each other and are saving them to a file to go back later when we are ready for a new story. _

_We hope you enjoy our this fic and please if you would, maybe send a review and let us know what you think._

_Wishing you the best,_

_Kanny & Christine_

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Dick parked his motorcycle in front of the apartment building and cut the engine. He sat there for a minute. "O ne more day like this and I'm going to start growing grey hair." he said to himself as he pulled his helmet off. He ran his hands through his raven hair and dismounted his bike.

He tucked the helmet under his arm as he made his way into the building. Dick stopped to grab his mail before he turned to trudg up the stairs toward his apartment. All he wanted was a hot shower and something to eat. He'd been up for almost 24 hours and on second thought..., he'd settle for just the hot shower before he crashed until it was time to suit up for patrol.

Dick sifted through the assortment of junk mail and bills as he neared the top of the staircase. He slowed his ascent as he noticed that his apartment door was ajar. Dick stopped on the second to last step, without taking his eyes off his door, he placed the mail inside his helmet and bent down to set it on the floor. He quickly flattened his body against the wall in the hallway and snaked his way toward the door.

Dick paused for a moment before kicking it open. He dove into a somersault and landed in a crouch with his back to the corner.

No one was in the kitchen. Very cautiously, he looked behind the door. Satisfied, he shut and latched it without making a sound.

That's when he saw it.

The file.

He had been looking over the Milanki case last night. This morning, when he had left for work, it was sitting on his kitchen table. Now it had made its way over to the counter, and was now open. That meant one thing. 'someone had been... or... still is here'.

Dick removed the nightstick from his duty belt, and silently cursed to himself for not opening the window blinds before leaving for work that morning.

Nothing appeared to be out of place.

Even the gold watch, which he had received as a graduation present was exactly were he had left it. Sitting in plain sight on top of the end table.

If this was not a robbery, which by all accounts, was not; then the odds just took an unfavorable turn for the worst. What other motive would someone have to break into his home. There were two possibilities.

Number one. They were looking for the only heir to the Wayne Fortune. Even though the adoption had been complete for only one month, the paparazzi seem to know the latest scoop on anyone in the public's eye even before it happened.

Or.

Number two. They were looking for Nightwing. Nothing more needed to be said about that.

Satisfied that the living room was secured; Dick turned to make his way down the hallway. He made it just past the couch when someone placed a hand on his shoulder.

With speed that only the Flash could top, Dick fell into a crouch and spun around to deliver a brutal blow to the intruder's gut.

To say he was shocked' when the nightstick was halted inches from its destination would be putting it lightly.

"I thought that after all your years of training, you would know how to keep your home secure." Said a voice that Dick known since he was nine.

"SHIT!!" Dick said as he clutched his chest. "Don't do that to me!"

Bruce shrugged his shoulders. "When you leave your home unsecured, you leave yourself wide open for all kinds of surprises"

Dick shot him a glare as he re-holstered his nightstick and made his way into the kitchen. He removed the clip and freed the chamber of his firearm before placing it in the fireproof safe that was hidden in the front closet. Dick then removed his duty belt and placed it on the kitchen counter as Bruce walked in the room.

"So what's up, I assume this isn't a social call" said Dick as he pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down to take off his boots.

"You have the next three days off. Is that right?" Bruce asked as he leaned up against the counter

"That's right" Dick answered. He sat back in the chair and turned a suspicious eye toward Bruce.

"Why? … What do I have planned this time?" Dick asked with a sarcastic tone. He knew all too well where this conversation was headed.

Without skipping a beat Bruce continued, "Do you feel like going skiing?"

Dick raised an eyebrow. Batman; taking a vacation?? Riiiight, when pigs fly. Something's up, Grayson. Batman never, ever, takes a vacation…'

Dick got up and retrieved his helmet and mail from the hallway.

'"Skiing, huh?" Dick closed the door. "What do you have up your sleeve Bruce?" he asked as he walked into his bedroom to change out of his uniform.

"Nothing," Bruce answered from the hallway. "I just thought that after the opening of the new Edmonton office in Canada, we could get in some skiing time."

"And theeere it is" Dick said as he reappeared tucking his shirt into his faded jeans.

"Look, Bruce" Dick started as he massaged his temples; he was starting to get a headache.

Bruce put up a hand and cut him off. "I know what you're going to say, Dick"

"If you know what I'm going to say then why are you here, Bruce?" Dick sighed, "Look, no offence or anything, but haven't we been through this a thousand times before? …... I'm not corporate material."

"I just want you to know how this works, from the inside. You know you're more than capable of doing it."

"I know what I'm capable of, Bruce"

"And I'm not here to test you on that, Dick"

Dick let out a long sigh as he plopped down on the couch.

Bruce walked over to the coffee table and sat down in front of Dick saying, "Look…, One day I'm not going to be here, and you are my only heir. When all that pressure is on your shoulders, you have to know what to do. There are thousands of people who work for Wayne Enterprises and they need a honest and reliable CEO. I don't trust anyone but you to do what is right. With that position, comes a lot of money and with a lot of money comes a lot of power.

To quote Lord Action, 'power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.'

Dick had been sitting with his elbows on his knees and his head hanging down.

Bruce paused, …... "Son, look at me." When Dick returned his gaze he continued, "Dick I don't want anyone else, I want you. And do you know why? Because I know that you are going to do the things that need to be done with the Wayne Fortune and I'm counting on your for that."

Dick sat there and looked at the man he had considered his father for many years now. Being a CEO is just about the last thing he wanted to do with his life. Sitting all day long stuck in an office, buried behind mountains of paperwork. Paperwork…. That's the only thing he disliked about being a cop.

He leaned his head to the back of the couch and rubbed his face with his hands. There was no way was going to get out of this trip. Bruce wasn't there to ask him to go. Rather, he was there to inform him where he was going.

The sooner he agreed, the sooner he'd be left to get some sleep.

"Ok, ok, … ok. I'll go" said Dick in mock surrender, "What time tomorrow do we leave?"

"Now" Bruce said as he tossed something at Dick's feet . It was one of his duffle bags, conveniently, already packed.

To be continued...  



	2. Chapter 2

**Road to Healing**

by:

OneMind

* * *

_Disclaimer: We don't own them. We don't make money off them. We just love them._

_Summary: Please see Chapter 1_

_Characters: Bruce Wayne & Dick Grayson_

* * *

Chapter 2.

"Tell me again. Why we had to leave this afternoon?" Dick asked as they handed their bags to the flight crew. One of the Wayne Enterprise's jet was prepped and was waiting for them on tarmac.

"Because, we have a three hour flight and have to be at the new division opening in Edmonton by 11:00 tomorrow morning.," Bruce answered as he took his seat.

"Exactly!" Dick exclaimed as he thrust his finger in Bruce's direction. "To – mor – row, we have to be there. Not this evening. Tomorrow. We could have waited until tomorrow morning to leave."

"Dick," Bruce closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, "One. Last. Time. To answer that question, and the complaint that is sure to follow. You always have to plan ahead. There is no guarantee that something unplanned won't come up and cause a delay. If we left early tomorrow morning it would be pushing it too close."

"And….." Bruce put up his hand as Dick opened his mouth to interrupt, " I know you went on patrol last night and then went straight to work this morning. You can nap while we're in flight. We'll be at the hotel by nine tonight. You'll even cash in on a couple extra hours because of the time zone difference between Bludhaven and Edmonton." Bruce finished as the jet began to taxi down the runway.

"Yeah, but…"

"Dick." Bruce cut off, "Buckle up. You should also fasten your seatbelt we're starting to take off."

Dick let out an exasperated sigh and complied.

- - - - - -

The jet wasn't one of the larger ones in the Wayne Enterprises' fleet; just large enough to accommodate ten passengers. Bruce and Dick chose seats in the middle, facing each other, with a coffee table situated between them.

Once they were in the air and the 'fasten seatbelt' signed turned off, Dick got up and went to an over-head bin and grabbed himself a pillow and blanket.

"Now, instead of having a ...a..." Bruce raised an eyebrow waiting for him to finish.

"...a ...a... aaachooo!..." Dick sneezed into the crook of his arm.

"Bless you." Bruce answered before turning back to his PDA.

Dick looked at the blanket he held in one hand, then turned to the pillow in his other, "Alfred would be beside himself if he had known these weren't freshly laundered' before we used the jet." Dick said, then took a tissue from the coffee table to blow his nose.

"Anyway, like I was saying... instead of having a nice comfy sleep in my BED, I have to take a nap' in the seat of a little jet. Be warned, Bruce Wayne, If I wake up sore, it will be your fault" Dick mumbled.

"I think that right about now you could fall asleep standing up, so stop complaining. Sit down, Shut. Up. And go to sleep." Bruce replied.

"Hey now..., is that any way to treat someone who is accompanying you on a boring business trip?? Alfred would twist your ear for that one." Dick said as he reclined his seat.

Bruce rolled eyes, then got up, "I'm getting a bottled water, do you want anything?"

""Yeah. Sleep. Two hours ago." Dick grumbled as he got situated under the blanket.

Bruce gave him the glare' and went to get his water.

About 2 hours later, Bruce was reading a newspaper when he heard a whimper. He looked over his paper at Dick and watched him for a moment. Bruce noticed how his head was cranked to the side.

hmmph...A bad posture to sleep. He'll have a sore neck. Aaannd...I'll get blamed for that...' Bruce thought, then turned his attention back to his newspaper.

A couple minutes later he was distracted again, this time by a moan. Bruce observed his son's sleep. Dick was sleeping, ..but he wasn't resting. From the expression on his face, Bruce knew that he was having a nightmare, and exactly how that dream played out…

_Flashback. (15 years before)_

_Dick blinked and quickly swiped a tear from his eye with the back of his hand._

_He leaned back against Bruce's chest._

_"Does it ever go away?" Dick asked_

_Bruce put his cup down on the tray and took a deep breath._

_"The hurt, the pain..." Dick added._

_"I'm not so sure. I mean, it's different for each person. But what I can tell you is it get will better with time." He turned to look Dick in the eyes, "There is no hidden answer, no course of action that you can take to deny the grief you feel in your heart, you just have to let time deal with it in its own way."_

_End of flashback._

Time would smooth the shock, but the pain would never go away. Just like the nightmares. How many nights did he sit beside Dick's bed to calm him through a night filled with what seemed like one endless nightmare? As time passed, the nightmares had become less frequent yet, had never and would never completely leave him in peace. Bruce contemplated for a second whether or not he should wake Dick.

"Nnnmmm" Dick moaned moving his head a little from side to side "No…nnnoo…please don't…..No please!"

Bruce got up in a hurry when it appeared the dream had taken a nasty turn for the worst.

At that moment jet took a sudden dip. Bruce clutched the back of the seat to keep his balance. Dick sat up with a start, "What the hell?!?" he yelled. Startled somewhere between his dream-state and reality.

"Turbulence" Bruce answered.

Dick got up from his seat to follow Bruce to the cockpit. Suddenly the jet took a sharp dive, causing Dick to plow into Bruce and throwing them both into the wall.

They landed in a pile, on the floor.

"Get off me kid..." Bruce grumbled.

"What??? Weren't you the one that told me to take a nap on the jet?"" Dick joked before he rolled off Bruce.

"I said on the jet. Not me." Bruce replied. He was trying to get to his feet but that proved to be a difficulty. The jet was still jarring around quite harshly.

Bruce opened the cockpit door, "What's wrong?"

The Copilot turned to him, "WHAT??"

The jet fighting against the storm, made it difficult to hear.

"WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE?" Bruce yelled.

"WE ARE HAVING TROUBLE KEEPING ER STEADY. THE STORM IS CREATING TOO MUCH TURBULENCE ... AND FROM THE LOOKS OF IT, IT'S ABOUT TO GET A LOT WORSE." The captain explained to Bruce. "THE AIRPORT AT EDMONTON IS CLOSED AND ALL THE FLIGHTS HAVE BEEN CANCELED."

Bruce and Dick strained to hear his words as they held onto the door way for support, keeping them from falling to the floor again.

"WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A NASTY SNOW STORM. IT CAME UP ALL OF A SUDDEN. MUST BE THE STRONG FRONT, PREDICTED TO MOVE IN FROM THE WEST." The copilot explained.

"BUT THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HOLD OFF UNTIL THURSDAY, ANOTHER 3 DAYS FROM NOW." said Bruce.

"WELL, SOMEONE MUST HAVE FORGOT TO TELL THAT TO THE STORM, BRUCE." Dick said without even a hint of amusement.

"SO WHAT ARE OUR OPTIONS?" Bruce asked.

"WE'VE GOT VIRTUALLY NO VISIBILITY. WE NEED TO LAND NOW." reported the captain.

"WHERE?" Dick asked.

"WE'RE IN ROUTE TO A SMALL TOWN CALLED NEWARK. IT'S THE ONLY PLACE AMONG THESE MOUNTAINS WE CAN LAND." The captain turned forward again before yelling, "SIT DOWN AND FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS. WE LAND IN 5 MINUTES AND WE'RE COMIN' IN FAST AND HARD."

Bruce turned Dick around and pointed to the closest seats, "SIT DOWN, BUCKLE UP." Dick did as he was instructed. Bruce took the seat across from Dick.

The jet started to shake violently.

"YOU KNOW HOW EARLIER YOU SAID THAT I WILL SLEEP IN THE PLANE? ... WELL, YOU DIDN'T MEAN FOREVER', RIGHT?" Dick looked out his window, MAAANNN I TOLD YOU! WE SHOULD HAVE COME TOMORROW!! RIGHT NOW, I COULD BE IN MY NICE WARM BED. AM I? NOOOOO. INSTEAD I'M SITTING IN A LITTLE JET THAT COULD CRASH!!"

"YOU SAID THAT THIS WAS A BORING TRIP!! WELL, HERE IT'S THE EXCITEMENT!!" Bruce told him.

"YOU KNOW, YOU'D THINK I'D BE ACCUSTOMED TO ALL THIS BY NOW." Dick said as he waved his hands over his head. "WHEN HAVE WE EVER HAD A NORMAL TRIP BEFORE??!" Dick paused for a moment before adding, "YOU BRING TROUBLE WITH YOU WHERE EVER YOU GO!"

"ME??" Bruce asked as he placed a hand to his chest, then pointed to Dick, IT'S YOU THAT IS THE TROUBLE MAGNET, OR DON'T YOU REMEMBER ALL THE TIMES THAT YOU WERE…!!!"

At that moment the jet began to vibrate and shake with more force. Bruce gripped the armrests as the jet made a sudden drop before regaining altitude and leveling out again. An overhead compartment bust open while the jet was forced to the side from a gale-force wind. They put their arms to up to block the assorted items that fell out.

It was as if the storm were trying to snap the jet in half. Bruce didn't know how much more abuse it could endure.

They had to land and had to do it now.

Otherwise, their futures didn't look very bright...

* * *

_Thank you for reading Chapter 2. We have Chapter 3 done and waiting in the wings. If you feel like it, let us know what you thought. What you liked and ... gulp what you didn't like._

_Kanny & Christine_


	3. Chapter 3

**Road to Healling**

by:

OneMind

* * *

_Disclaimer & Summary please see chapter 1_

_Continued from Chapter 2:_

_At that moment the jet began to vibrate and shake with more force. Bruce gripped the armrests as the jet made a sudden drop before regaining altitude and leveling out again. An overhead compartment bust open while the jet was forced to the side from a gale-force wind. They put their arms to up to block the assorted items that fell out._

_It was as if the storm were trying to snap the jet in half. Bruce didn't know how much more abuse it could endure._

_They had to land and had to do it now._

_Otherwise, their futures didn't look very bright..._

* * *

Chapter 3 

The plane hit an air pocket and took a sudden dip. Bruce felt his stomach roll with the sharp climb back up to altitude and was reminded of how Booster Gold could never finish a flight without taking advantage of the complementary airsickness bags.

Dick and Bruce were tossed around in their seats as the jet rolled to the left, and again with the hard compensation by the pilot back to the right. The sound of the turbulence the jet screamed through was deafening.

"YOU WOULDN'T HAPPEN TO HAVE THE BATGLIDER WITH YOU BY ANY CHANCE?" Dick shouted to Bruce.

Bruce looked at him for a moment before answering, "I LEFT IT IN MY OTHER COAT."

Dick smiled at the sarcastic reply. The jet rapidly approached the runway of the small, private airport in Newark, Canada. Dick looked out his window and strained to see the lights marking the runway. He knew they had to be close, rather he _hoped_ they were close which would give a positive explanation for the sharp downward pitch the jet had taken on.

Oh Shit...' Dick thought as the runway lights were suddenly exposed a fraction of a second before they hit the ground.

Hard.

The jet landed on its left wheel, allowing the wing to scrape the ground before it snapped under the pressure, resulting in the body of the aircraft to fall crash onto the tarmac.

Dick and Bruce braced themselves as much as they could before they were slammed into the wall.

They glanced at each other at the same time. There was no need for words; whatever happened, they were there for each other.

Sparks flew from under the body of the jet as it slid on the ice and asphalt before finally coming to a halt.

The two heros sat still for a moment, breathing deeply from the excitement.

"How many lives do I have left now?" Dick joked while they unfastened their seatbelts.

"Don't worry, you still have a few. Like I've told you, you have MORE lives than a cat!" Bruce replied as they got to their feet. Using seats and tables for stability, they made their way through the broken jet to check on the flight crew.

The cabin door opened just as they approached the front of the passenger area. The pilot and copilot stepped through.

"Are you ok?" asked Bruce.

"Yeah, how about you two?" the pilot asked.

"We're fine." Dick answered.

The pilot ran his hands through his hair before leaning on the doorway, crossing his arms, "Sorry about the rough landing. Didn't exactly have much of a choice. We needed to go in fast, otherwise we'd miss our window of opportunity."

"Well," the copilot added as he looked between the four of them, "At least the only thing appears to be damaged, is the jet." he said as they walked back to the passenger area to get their things.

"Don't worry about the jet, you two did a commendable job landing in such adverse conditions." Bruce replied.

"Thank you Mr. Wayne." The pilot answered as Bruce and Dick boarded the shuttle that had arrived.

"Mr. Wayne, we have set you and your son up at our finest hotel so you will be comfortable until the storm has ..."

"No thank you." Bruce interrupted the shuttle driver. "We need to keep going. We have to be in Edmonton by tomorrow morning, and now that we can't take a plane, we'll have to make the rest of the trip by car."

"Uhhh... With all duo respect, sir, I think that you should stay. It's very dangerous to travel in these conditions."

Dick did a double take as the driver made a U' turn and headed to the airport rental car area.

Dick turned to Bruce... "And with_out_ duo respect... Are you crazy??" Bruce turned to face Dick "We are in the middle of a very big storm, in a little town on the top of a mountain, and…."

"Dick, we need to go or we're never going to be there in time. This opening is very important and they won't proceed without me there." Bruce cut him off.

Dick sighed "Ok... We'll rent a car and do it your way. For the record though... I still think it's a _bad_ idea."

"Noted." Bruce replied.

"You know, after we rent a car we should buy some things that we might need, you know, if we have car trouble and can't go on or something."

"OK... Like something to eat?"

"How did you know?" Dick joked while they get their bags and went for the airport office to rent a car.

"You are always hungry"

"You know me!"

* * *

"B-32... B-32..." Bruce muttered to himself as he looked at the numbers painted on the parking spaces 

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Bruce?"

"We don't have much of a choice" Bruce answered.

"That having priorities in their right place" Dick said and gave him a sarcastic pat on the back.

Bruce stopped looking for their vehicle, turned to face Dick and raised an eyebrow.

"Right... uh.. All I'm saying is, I won't be learning much if we're creamed into the side of a mountain. Heck, you never know... they might even cancel the opening due to storm." Dick said with optimism.

Bruce gave a small chuckle, "Sorry to crush your hope there, Dick, but this is just any other day up here. Snow storms are a regularity. Nothing surprising or out of the ordinary."

Dick sighed and ushered Bruce on, "Well, let's hurry up and find the Jeep. I'm freezing!"

* * *

_later in the small town of Newark..._

"That will be…$26.13, sir" said the clerk behind the counter of the small general store.

"Ooh! Add this to the bill too, please" Dick said, handing him 2 lighters and a six-pack of power bars.

"Dick, we have enough food for the rest of the trip" Bruce told Dick as he paid the clerk.

"Bruce, I'll be sitting for who knows how many straight hours, beside the man who talks mostly in monosyllables, who doesn't know what good music is and on top of all that..., I'm sure that we're not going to have hardly any cell phone signal in these mountains, so I can't call anyone to talk to. Atleast let me use my mouth for something! And, you know, if I'm eating I won't be talking, sooooo... more silence for you!" Dick explained while they exited the shop and walked toward the Jeep.

"Hrn... not with the way you eat. And since when do you smoke?" Bruce asked him while they placed their purchases in the back seat.

Dick opened the pack of power bars and placed three in a high pocket of the left side his coat and the other three in the lower pocket before throwing away the box in a trash can in font of the store.

"Smoke? I don't smoke…Oh! The lighters? Well, you always said be prepared; just seemed like a good idea." Dick said getting in the Jeep.

* * *

"How long until we get there?" Dick asked for the 30th time in the last hour. His current position had him sitting with his right foot settled on the dashboard, leaning his knee toward the window.

"Long" Bruce replied. He was straining to see the road. It had been difficult to see to begin with due to the conditions of the storm. Now that it was dark, it had become almost impossible. He had given thanks more than once for the Jeep's fog lamps.

Dick sighed and unfastened his seat belt to get something to eat from the back seat.

"What do you think you are doing" Bruce asked, annoyed.

"Wow, a complete phrase!!" He joked. "I'm going to get something to eat, I'm hungry".

"Fasten your sit belt, you can't take it of while I'm driving."

Dick stopped with the seat belt in his hand "You talk like I'm doing something dangerous. I'm just going to get some chips from the back seat!"

"Wait until we stop somewhere, then you can get something to eat" demanded Bruce.

Dick fastened back his seat belt and remembered the power bars they had bought. He took one out and started to eat it. Bruce noticed him eating, and realize d he hadn't eat since lunch and was also getting hungry.

"Hey, hand me one of those."

Dick looked a him with a smirk "You objected to the purchase and now you want me to give you one of my bars?? HA!! No way, Jose! You said we had enough with the other food, so get food from the back seat" he said smiling it's sooo easy to annoy Bruce…'

"I paid for those, so they are mine. Now give me one."

"What's the magic word??" Dick joked smiling

"Now!" Said Bruce

"No no. That's not it." Dick was having way too much fun. "What did Alfred teach you?? You have to ask nicely when you want something" Dick said in a tone like he was explaining something to a five years old.

Bruce exhaled deeply. "Please" He said between clenched teeth.

He didn't remember the patience that he needed have with Dick and he was out of practice. It seemed that whenever that the two of them were alone together, Dick started to act like a kid, just to try to make Bruce laugh. And well, some other times he acted like a brat, like right now. But Dick knew that he is the only one with the capability to achieve the unachievable.

He grabbed the bar that Dick opened for him and started to eat it. Dick started to hum a tune while eating his bar.

"What flavor did you get?" Bruce asks as he looked down at his own bar.

"Orange. Like always. Are you going to complain about the flavor too?"

"I would if I could tell what flavor it was... " Bruce handed his bar over to Dick, "what's it say?"

"I told ya already!! It's orange" Dick replied, he was becoming impatient."Look, Bruce, I asked you a while ago... can we stop now? Please??"

"Nooooo, you said _yours_ was orange." Bruce pressed on about the disagreeable flavor. There was no hint of his bar having an orange flavor.

"_sigh_ I bough a _pack_, they all are the same flavor!!" Dick said as he pushed the power bar back at Bruce, "Now, can you stop for a second?? Mother nature's calling!!"

Bruce looked over to Dick,"Why would you get a pack of just one flavor? That way you're stuck if you get a bad flavor"

"Damn it Bruce, I like the flavor, it's the flavor that I always get. I wouldn't get it if I DIDN'T LIKE THE DAMN FLAVOR!"Dick answered completely annoyed now.

"They must have accidently put a different flavor in the pack.. .or maybe it is a bonus pack. Maybe it's a new flavor and you get it free as a marketing ploy." Bruce smiled in the dark, Dick won' he thought to himself. He was enjoying himself too much.

"Are you ignoring me or what? I've GOT TO PEE. Piss. Urinate, Relieve myself, Squirt, Tinkle. Drain the main vein... Call it what ever the hell you want to. Pull the friggin' Jeep over or I swear I'll do it right here right now!!" Dick finished his rant.

"Well...," Dick thought for a moment... " At least we'd have something warm in here."

Bruce looked over to Dick with disgust.

"With allllll the cars that were available, you had to pick the only one that had a heater on the fritz." Dick continued.

"You know, I'm not against pulling over, Dick. What I _am_ against however, is not knowing _where_ to pull over to... I can't see a damn thing. If it weren't for the fog lamps, I wouldn't even know where the road was supposed to be." Bruce answered as he down-shifted again to get through another deep snow drift that had covered the road. "And it was either rent the Jeep that had 4 wheel drive had a heater on the fritz or rent a car that was only for city driving."

"And _who's_ fault is that?? If we stayed in that town until tomorrow, we would be in someplace warm and comfortable. Apparently, you thought It would be more fun if we were out here in the cold."

"You know, just in case you were under the wrong assumption, Dick, just because you complain about it, doesn't make it magicly fixed."

Dick continued, ignoring Bruce's last comment, "And you know when you're cold...well, you have to pee more" Dick said squirming a little in his seat.

"You have got to be kidding me... _sigh_ Dick, I told you not to chug down the Gatoraide."

"aaaand I've been sitting too long!! I need to move now before I get stuck this way." Dick protested.

"Kid, you've been moving since you were born!"

"Well, excuse me for living!" Dick snapped.

"Fine, but if we don't get back on the road it's your fault" Bruce warned.

"Pull. OVER. NOW!!" Dick replied with a warning of his own. "One good thing about this cold vehicle, is not having to spend time putting on my coat and gloves. I've wasted enough time on your stubbornness, I'll be lucky if I make it in time." Dick muttered under his breath.

He doesn't think that he's going to make it in time? Is that what he said?' Bruce thought twice, "Fine, but if we don't get back on the road it's your fault." Bruce told Dick as he pulled over to where he was relatively sure the side of the road was.

"Funny, that means the same as it did the first time you said it." Dick answered with a glare.

Bruce pulled over and Dick jumped out of the Jeep.

Bruce followed.

Dick looked over to Bruce, "What do you think you're doing?"

"What??? Bruce asked in an innocent tone, "I'm taking you up on your idea."

Dick shook his head and grumbled as he walked away from the Jeep,"If I don't get food and eat, you don't eat. If I dont pee, you don't pee... man, can't you do things on your own?? I think you rely on Alfred too much"

On the way back to the Jeep, Bruce noticed Dick coughed a few times. "Are you sick?"

"Doubt it. Probably just this cold dry air. Most likely just sucked in too much at one time bitching at you."

"Well, then it serves you right." Bruce rebutted as he started up the Jeep and pulled back onto the road.

Dick experienced a full body shiver, "How long until we get there??"

Bruce just ignored him. He was being annoying again, asking the same question.

"OOOOOkayyyy. Look I'm bored and I have to be here, sitting still, for a long time, so we better talk about something." Dick said

"I thought that you've wanted to sleep since you finished your shift." said Bruce

"Like I'm going to be able to get any sleep while I'm shivering." Dick answered. He banged on the heater again hoping to connect a loose wire or something that would provide some sort of relief.

Bruce sighed and glanced over to his son, "You realize you're fighting a losing battle don't you?"

"What can I say I'm desperate." Dick said. "Besides, to answer your previous remark, you know, when someone is driving a lot and at night, you have to give him conversation so they don't fall asleep?? And with this weather...I'm not taking chances!"

"Dick, either sleep or don't complain tomorrow that you didn't get a chance to tonight." Bruce said annoyed.

"I promise not to complain if you talk about something. What do you wanna talk about?"Dick asked

"Do I look like I want to talk about something??" Bruce said

Dick gave him a look "We can talk about something normal, like any other person. Wanna talk about basketball??" Bruce kept quiet watching the road, ignoring him "hhhmm I guess not... what about cars??" Bruce ignored him again "What about...the weather?? Football? Baseball? Girls?? Hell, something!!"

After a moment of silence Dick looked out the window, "I don't know why you brought me here and then don't even talk to me..."

"I brought you with me to learn. Just that."

"I thought that maybe you wanted to spend a little time with me too. We don't do that much anymore." Dick said a little hurt

Bruce gave no response.

Dick looked at him for a moment, before he turned his back to Bruce some and reached into his coat pocket, grabbed his cell phone and started to play a game.

A few minutes later he heard a grunt comming from Bruce

Dick looked over to Bruce then continued playing.

A moment later Bruce expressed an exasperated sigh.

"Is there a problem?" Dick asked without looking up from his phone.

"Can't you do that without it making that noise? Can you turn down the music??"

"I _could, _yes."

"Then, do it." Bruce demanded

"And where would be the fun in that??"

"Being allowed your next breath." Bruce growled.

"Geesh..." Dick said as he snapped his phone shut and zipped it in his coat pocket again.

"Happy now? What do you want anyway? How do I make you happy? No matter what I do, you're never happy" Dick said in a soft voice.

Bruce looked to him and saw the hurt that had manifested on his son's face.

"That's not truth Dick. There were a lot of times when you made..."

"Look out!" Dick yelled just as they rounded a tight corner to find a set of headlights directly in front of them. Bruce instinctivly threw his arm out infront of his son as he swirved to avoid the truck that had taken the corner too fast.

"Shit.." said Bruce, they started spin out on the layer of ice that had formed with the cooling temperatures of the night.

The Jeep spun too many times for Bruce to be able to keep track of which way to try to point the Jeep. All he knew was that they were still spinning and showed no signs of slowing down. He did the only thing he could. Lightly tap the breaks and turn the wheel into the spin, and pray.

"Not. Good." Dick said under his breath as he braced himself against the dashboard.

For a quick moment the headlights of the truck and their Jeep crossed and revealed where their momentum was taking them.

Hold on..." Bruce said as he maneuvered the jeep the best he as they crashed through the side rail of the road and started sliding down the side of the mountain.

"Tell me this isn't what you meant by 'skiing'" Dick said

"Not _exactly_ what I had in mind..." Bruce answered, as he tried in vain to retain some sort of control over their decent down the steep slope.

"Oh _Shit_..., Bruce!!..." Dick shouted as he watched the headlights of the truck in front of them suddenly shoot up to the sky and then vanish."CLIFF! BAIL OUT!!"

* * *

_Alright, there you are! We hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed writing it! Drop us a line and let us know what you think. If you're good little boys and girls, then maybe we'll be able to get Chapter 4 out to you soon. :-)  
_

_Until next time..._

_OneMind_

_(Kanny & Christine)_


	4. Chapter 4

_For disclaimer and summary, please see Chapter 1._

* * *

Chapter 4 

Cold.

All he could feel was the cold.

A cold that seeped deep down into his bones.

Blackness.

Dark.

He opened his eyes. It was so dark that, for a moment, he wasn't sure if he had.

He was outside; he knew that. He also knew he was partially covered in snow.

_Where..?'_

_What...?_' He thought to himself.

Slowly he began to sit up, wincing at various nagging pains.

He closed his eyes and tried to remember.

_The trip to Canada..., the rented car..., headlights... ice on the road..., Dick screaming 'BAIL OUT!',…. the cliff...,_

_wait…_

_Dick! Where is he?!?'_

Bruce pushed himself off the ground and stumbled to his feet. It wasn't until then that he noticed the pain in his arm.

Bruce unzipped a pocket of his coat and removed a miniature flashlight. Although it was small it had many different beam settings. He turned it onto a low setting to conserve the batteries, placed it between his teeth, and pulled up the sleeve of his coat.

_'Broken. Damn..._' He thought to himself. At least it didn't appear to be too serious. He'd have to splint it but not now. First he had to find Dick.

Bruce turned up the beam on the flashlight and looked around for a moment to try to get his bearings.

_'Dick was in the passenger seat, the slope is behind me... so he has to be off to my right somewhere._' Bruce calculated.

"Dick!!...Diiiiick!!..." Bruce called out. He strained to hear any hint of a response. The only thing he heard was the wind as it whirled around him.

Bruce maxed out the flashlight and slowly started to move in the direction he thought Dick should be. The snow storm had covered up any telltale disturbances in the snow that would have shown him which direction to go.

"DICK!... CAN YOU HEAR ME??" Bruce called out again.

Nothing.

Bruce picked up his pace and broke into a jog, "DIIIICK!... ANSWER ME... DIIIICK..." Bruce called out before he stopped again and urgently moved the beam of the flashlight in the distance as he searched for his son.

Bruce could feel a sensation that he hadn't experienced in a very long time. He was beginning to panic. His breathing was too fast and he was frantically darting the flashlight about.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _'DAMN IT. Get a grip on yourself._' he commanded. _'You're not going to find him if you don't have a clear head.'_

Bruce steeled himself and switched on the calm, cool and collective nature of the Detective.

Slowly he scanned the area that surrounded him. Bruce turned around to see how far he had come. _'Dick couldn't be any further this way..., alright..., then we start to look more to the left...'_ He coached himself.

"DICK?... DIIIIICK... CAN YOU HEAR ME??... DIIIIIICK..." Bruce scanned the beam of the flashlight back toward where he had come from when something suddenly caught his eye.

A sharp glimmer.

Bruce quickly snapped the light back.

"DICK!... Bruce called as he broke into a sprint when he realized the flashlight had picked up the reflective piping on the back of Dick's ski coat. His son was lying on his side, at the base of a large pine tree. Bruce covered the distance between them as fast as he could in the three-foot-deep snow and fell to his knees at his son's side. He was unconscious, but was starting to come around.

"Dick, can you hear me?"

"Hhmm..."

"Talk to me, Dick." Bruce coached as he began to gently push the snow off his son.

"nnngggghhh"

Bruce reduced the beam on the flashlight before he made a quick assessment of any obvious injuries. The only thing he could be sure of was a large cut to the side of Dick's head. He could tell that it had been bleeding quite a bit. However, the cold night air had slowed the flow to almost a stop.

"Dick, can you move?" asked Bruce.

There was no answer.

Bruce placed his hand on Dick's shoulder and gave it a gentle shake, "Dick, can you..."

"Aaarggh!!" Dick cried out.

Bruce removed his hand. "What? What's wrong?? Where are you injured?"

"nnnnnghhh" Dick grunted and rolled onto his back.

"Hey. Stay still. Don't move until I check you out." Bruce said. He began to gently pat down Dick's torso and squeezed random areas on his arms and legs, searching for other possible injuries.

"Where, are you injured?" Bruce repeated.

"My shoulder!" Dick answered through clenched teeth.

Bruce looked to Dick with concern. He didn't like his breathing. "Are you injured anywhere else?"

Dick didn't answer right away.

"My … my..shoulder.." Dick said a little weary, everything around him was spinning, he couldn't focus his vision and his head pounded with a brutal force. He was pretty sure it topped the hangover Roy had after Wally's New Year's Eve party.

"Ok, I'll take a look at it in just a second... but first, I want you to squeeze my hands as hard as you can." Bruce said as he took Dick's gloved hands in his own.

Bruce didn't feel anything.

"Dick..." Bruce moved the flashlight's soft beam to Dick's face and tapped his cheek. "Dick."

"..huh...wha.." Dick mumbled.

"How hard did you hit your head?" Bruce asked as he inspected the cut to Dick's head, "Did you blackout just now?"

".. no ... I was just ... staying still.., like you told me to." he answered without opening his eyes.

Bruce frowned, "Right... Well .., here. Squeeze my hands." It took him a second or two but Dick did as he was instructed. Bruce noticed his right hand had a significantly weaker grip, but with an injury to his shoulder, it was to be expected.

"Good. Now, slowly, move your legs for me." Satisfied with his movements, Bruce decided it was safe to allow Dick to sit up.

"Ok, let's see what's wrong with your shoulder. Can you try and sit up so I can take a look at it?"

"…yeah…" After a couple minutes, with help from Bruce, Dick sat up. Bruce took note of how slowly he moved.

Bruce took off his left glove and unzipped Dick's coat just enough to reach his hand inside. Dick moaned some as Bruce inspected his shoulder.

"It's dislocated, Dick." Bruce said as he continued to feel the shoulder. He was blindly trying to assess the damage when he felt a sudden muscle spasm.

"Is it a par.. nnnghhh... partial or complete separation?" Dick asked through gritted teeth.

"It feels complete." Bruce answered as he repositioned himself to be able push the arm back into the shoulder joint.

"Alright, Dick, you know the drill." Bruce said.

When Dick didn't answer, Bruce looked down at him. Dick had his eyes shut and gave a weak nod.

"You know, I did want to ask you something while we were away." Bruce thought about how he was going to do this with a broken arm.

"I'm working on a case and I could use your help. Tim is away at the moment with the Titans and, well, you know how it is. You could come in and take one look the evidence that I've been starring at over four days and piece something together. Wouldn't be the first time you did that to me. So, what do you think... can I count on you, partner?" Bruce asked

"…You know that… that you can always count on me, Bruce.." Dick said and opened his eyes a little. He wondered which of the two Bruces in font of him he was speaking with. "And.. you don't even… have to asAAAaaHHHHhhgggg!!!"

At that moment Bruce had snapped his arm back into place. Dick's cry seemed to echo for miles. He knelt forward and hugged the arm of his injured shoulder to this chest.

"….nice little …game …of decep...tion…" Dick said between gulps of air.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Control your breathing, otherwise you're going to hyperventilate."

Dick focused and a short while later, though still irregular, he had it under more control. He opened his eyes and tried to focus on Bruce. He was still seeing double.

Great.., just what I need, another concussion' he thought.

"Are you better now?" Bruce asked him.

"….yeah…thanks. What about you? Are you hurt?" Dick asked.

"Not really." Bruce lied. He took Dick's chin and lifted his face before he took the dim flashlight and briefly shined it at Dick eyes to determine the reaction time of his pupils.

"Damn it Bruce!! Can you focus that light somewhere else?!!"

"Dick. You have a cut on you head and it's bleeding. I'm pretty damn sure you have a concu..."

"Leave me alone, ok??" Dick said, pushing Bruce's hand away.

"Dick, I need to see your injuries. You could have something serious and…"

"I told you I'm fine! Just give me a couple of minutes, alright?" Dick cut Bruce off.

"Alllllright, let me help you get up. Then we can…"

"Why do you always think I need your help with everything??" Dick cut him off again, "I can take care of myself! I've been doing that for a while now, Bruce." Dick snapped as he started to get to his feet.

Bruce was a bit taken back by Dick's abrasive responses. He had his suspicions, but gave Dick some space and let him stand up on his own. Bruce observed the difficulty Dick experienced with the simple task. He shined the flashlight in Dick's general direction and saw how he squinted, then blinked his eyes often; no doubt trying to focus his vision.

When Dick finally accomplished a vertical position, he only took a couple of steps before he swayed and fell back into the deep snow.

Bruce quickly moved to Dick's side and placed his hand on Dick's good shoulder. "Dick?"

He noticed Dick tremble under his touch, but couldn't determine if it was from the pain, the cold or a concussion Bruce figured he had. Most likely all three.' Bruce thought.

"…_oh, God..._ I think …I think, I'm... gonna.…" Dick moaned before he quickly lunged to his left and vomited. The pain from his injured shoulder and the merciless pounding in his head made it a challenge to keep from falling down into the snow.

Bruce crouched down and saw the arm Dick used to hold himself up was trembling. He wrapped his good arm under Dick's chest to support his weight as his son's body was consumed by violent heaving.

When Dick had finished, he coughed a couple times before leaning back a little with a groan. He used a handful of snow, to get the bitter taste out of his mouth. Bruce frowned with the labored breathing Dick experienced again.

"Steady your breathing again." Bruce said as he placed a comforting hand to his son's back. "That's it, you're doing fine." A couple minutes later, Dick had his breathing under control once more.

"Now. that you've demonstrated that you are _fine_..., would you allow me to see just how _fine_ you are??" Bruce asked.

Dick gave him a glare that Batman could be proud of.

"It's just… the light... too bright" Dick said

"It hurts when you look at it?"

"Wouldn't it bother you if you' looked at it??!" Dick barked.

"Diiick...," Bruce warned with a glare of his own.

"Ok, ok,… it doesn't hurt. It's just very annoying." Dick said and hopped that Bruce would buy it.

"Look at me" Bruce said and focused the light to Dick's eyes. '_Unequal...only partially reactive... shit'. _he thought to himself then put two fingers up, "How many?"

"Two?" Dick asked, then smiled when Bruce kept looking at him "What?? You never realized _every_ time you ask that, you always hold up two fingers??" He said with a mischievous grin.

Bruce focused the light to Dick's head. "Let me look that cut. It's still bleeding some." said Bruce.

Dick gave a sharp hiss when Bruce placed his hand on the back of Dick's head to tilt it and examine the wound. Bruce removed his hand and saw the blood on his glove.

"Hold on a second." Bruce said. He leaned over and used the flashlight look at the back of Dick's head. He saw a trail of blood that had stained the back of Dick's coat. He gently parted the hair at the base of his head. He found a large gash created by the impact of an unknown object. _'Most likely either a rock or the side of the Jeep.'_ he thought to himself. This conformed what he already knew, a concussion, which explained Dick's abrasive behavior.

"Alright Dick, I'm going pack some snow and I want you to hold it to the back of your head. You have a large laceration and it's still bleeding." Bruce gave Dick a tightly packed ball of snow, then guided his hand to the wound.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm just going to walk off a few steps to see if I can tell which direction we need to head off in."

"... k.." Dick answered.

Bruce stood up and maxed out the flashlight again as he took in their surroundings. He looked back to the slope leading up to the road. With the multiple feet of fresh snow the storm had dropped, and the incline, there was no way they'd make it up there, especially in Dick's condition.

A couple minutes later, Bruce walked back over to Dick. He was still leaning against the trunk of the tree. Dick rested his head upon his knees which he had drawn up to his chest. Bruce could tell he was shivering before he crouched down, again, at Dick's side.

"How you doing?" He asked as he pulled Dick forward to see the status of the wound. Bruce was alarmed with the way Dick slouched against him from the movement, "Well, the bleeding's stopped for the most part."

"T..That must b..be because of.. the cuh.. cold" Dick said through chattering teeth.

"I know. We have to move. We can't stay here, exposed to these elements. We have to find some sort of shelter." Bruce thought out loud.

Bruce was satisfied with how much the bleeding had stopped. However, what he was not satisfied with was how quiet Dick had become. Between the concussion and the cold, he had become too lethargic. He needed to get Dick moving now.

"Come on, let's get you up and keep moving. We have to keep our blood flowing; create more body-heat. Maybe we'll be lucky and someone saw us or the truck leave the road." Bruce explained.

"..'k." was Dick's only reply.

Bruce got up and helped Dick to get to his feet.

"What happened" Dick asked

"Don't you remember??"

Dick stopped and looked at Bruce for a moment. "... No."

" No matter." Bruce said, then gave Dick a run down of the previous events.

"Our cell phones??" asked Dick

"You have yours in your pocket, I think" Bruce told him.

Dick took out the phone from his coat pocket and realized why his side hurt. His impact with the tree must have crushed the phone into his side. They tried to put it back together, but it was not use. "Where's yours?" Dick asked.

"It was in the Jeep."

"In the Jeep... In the JEEP?? You always have it on you. Your phone and that stupid, annoying mini flashlight. And you choose _now_ would be a good time to change your all-too-holy rituals?? He shouted, "Damn." Dick said as he threw his phone to the ground.

"I did have the phone with me, but when I'm driving, I always place it in the handless receiver." Bruce defended himself.

"So we can't call out…..What about the Jeep... and the other vehicle... oh Bruce, .. the people that were inside?" Dick asked.

"It went over the cliff ... there." Bruce said as he nodded off to his left. "I don't think anyone could survive that fall. We're on the second highest peak..., but let me go look and see if I can find something."

Bruce walked to the edge of the cliff, laid down on his stomach and looked down. It was too dark and even with the flashlight maxed out, he couldn't see anything; the beam faded to black. Calculating the distance the from where lightbeam ended, it must be a good 80 foot drop. There was no way anyone could have survived. He got back up and returned to where Dick stood.

"We're too high up, I can't see anything down there." He looked at Dick and saw that he was holding his side, "What hurts?"

Dick pushed Bruce's hand away,"Nothing, ... it's just sore is all." Dick answered

"Are you sure, you might have broken..."

"Don't you think by know I could tell difference between a broken rib and just a bruised side??" Dick cut him off "And other thing, you've got a bruise to your jaw.. and most likely more. Are you sure you're not hurt?"

"No, I'm fine, just the usual bumps and bruises you get from tumbling down a mountain slope... but nothing serious. You, on the other hand, took a nasty hit to that tree. I wish you'd let me check you over better." Bruce answered.

Dick stood and looked at Bruce.

Bruce sighed. "I told you, I'm_ fine_."

"And I told you, I'm fine. Just cold. Can we get going already, so we don't freeze to death?" Dick asked impatiently.

"Wait. First we need to do something about your arm, try to immobilize it somehow." Bruce thought for a moment, then unfastened two of the snaps in the middle of Dick's coat. "Here, give me your hand..."

Dick made a deep grunt when Bruce placed his hand inside the opening of Dick's coat, then, fastened the snap just above his wrist.

"Well, it's not perfect, but it will have to do until we can find shelter. Let's go." Bruce instructed.

They walked for a little while before Dick started to lag behind. Bruce noticed that he was walking in more of a zigzag pattern than a straight line while they continued their search for shelter. He took a hold of Dick's good arm to guide him.

A little while later, Bruce had to stop; Dick kept losing his balance due to the dizziness he experienced. The two of them had been walking in silence for a while now. That sent off another silent alarm for Bruce, in all the years Dick had been in his life, he could NEVER stop talking. If Bruce insisted he stop, the closest he'd be able to come was mumbling, or humming a tune. Bruce felt a pang of guilt as he thought back Dick's attempt to strike up a conversation back in the Jeep; and the way he ignored him.

As their journey continued, the storm's furry showed no signs of mercy. Bruce stopped to take Dick's arm, and wrapped it around his neck. Bruce wrapped his good arm around Dick's back to help keep him up and on his feet.

Bruce could feel Dick's body tremble continually; his own shivering had stepped up a notch as well. He ignored the burning in this legs and the throbbing pain in his arm. He dug down to the pit of his resolve and trudged on with more urgency than before. They had to find shelter, and quick otherwise things were about to take a radical turn for the worse.

* * *

_Ok, that's it for now. We hope you enjoyed this chapter and we'd love it if you us a line and let us know what you think. Chapter 5 is almost ready to post, so you won' thave to wait long._

_Kanny & Christine_


	5. Chapter 5

_For Summary and disclaimer please see Chapter 1._

_Characters: Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne._

_Warning: This chapter contains mild language at times._

* * *

_Continued from Chapter 4..._

_As their journey continued,the storm's furry showed no signs of mercy. Bruce stopped to takeDick's arm, and wrapped it around his neck. Bruce wrapped his good armaround Dick's back to help keep him up and on his feet._

_Brucecould feel Dick's body tremble continually; his own shivering hadstepped up a notch as well. He ignored the burning in this legs and thethrobbing pain in his arm. He dug down to the pit of his resolve andtrudged on with more urgency than before. They had to find shelter, andquick otherwise things were about to take a radical turn for the worse._

* * *

Chapter 5 

Dick stopped. That was it. He was spent and couldn't hide it any longer. The nausea dizziness and fatigue that plagued his body was at an all time peak. He had needed to stop a long time ago but didn't. They needed to keep moving, but now..., now he had to stop and sit down. He couldn't stop shivering and had become very, very tired.

"Dick...? Dick, What's wrong?" Bruce asked him when he suddenly stopped. He didn't answer. Instead, began to fall forward. Bruce grabbed him as best he could with his good arm and pulled him to the ground under the cover of a nearby tree.

"Dick? ... Come on, kid, talk to me. Are you ok??" Bruce asked, very concerned.

Dick closed his eyes tight; everything around him was rapidly spinning "…y...yeah, I just needed to sit down for a minute"

Bruce knelt down in front of Dick. His breathing had once again become labored. Bruce cupped his son's chin in his hand and lifted it. He minimized the flashlight's beam and looked at Dick. He didn't like what the soft beam revealed. Dick had become very pale and his trembling had worsened so much so that it shook his entire body. Dick was cradling the arm of his injured shoulder close to his body.

"Look at me" Bruce ordered.

Dick felt Bruce's hand shivering when he grabbed his chin. They couldn't stop walking; they needed to find some shelter soon. "Bruce…I told you …I'm f..fine, just … n need …rest for a... m..minute" He said through chattering teeth.

Bruce turned off the light and squeezed Dick's good shoulder, "You need to move Dick. You can't stop in this weather. We'll find something soon and then you can rest"

It seemed as if Dick hadn't heard. He didn't move and his breathing had now become slow and shallow.

"Dick?...C.. Come ..on, p..partner, w..work with… m..me." Bruce couldn't control his chattering teeth any more. They needed to warm up and soon. Between Dick's violent trembling and the lethargic nature he'd been slipping further into, hypothermia was starting to set in. He was also concerned Dick might be going into shock from his concussion.

"…I..I..c..can't.." Dick admitted finally. He couldn't walk any more. He felt very weak. His shoulder hurt, his head hurt, his side hurt, he was dizzy, cold thru and thru, exhausted...and he felt like his body weighed a ton. The only thing he could do was shiver and that his body had decided to do on its own.

"Yes, you can! G..get up, I'll help you. We'll d..do it..t.together." Bruce encouraged.

"….L ..like..the .. old... t..times..?" Dick whispered.

"Y ..Yeah, partner,..j.just…like the...old ..t.times" Bruce said as he stood up. He reached down to help Dick get to his feet. He took Dick's good arm and wrapped it around his neck once more, to help him walk.

They only walked for a couple seconds before Dick fell again. Bruce grabbed him before he fell face first into the snow.

"DICK!" Bruce yelled as he caught his son for the second time.

He settled Dick gently to the snow-covered ground and kneeled in front of him again. He took Dick's head in his good arm and looked at his face again. Bruce felt his stomach drop when he saw Dick's lips had turned blue. Bruce frantically scanned the area.

"D..Dick, ..c..can ..you...hear..m..me?"

"Hhmmm" Came the weak reply. Dick was starting to loose consciousness. Bruce new that he couldn't walk any more, and he wasn't going to get to far carrying Dick in this weather with the shape he, himself was in. His arm was on fire from the couple of times that he had caught Dick.

Bruce's eyes settled upon a large pine tree. It's branch span was wide enough to provide a relatively snow-free floor. Thankfully, the trees were more dense than from where they had started from. Still, the wind continued to whip around them relentlessly.

Bruce had made a decision. It was a hard one to make, but if they were to survive, it had to be done.

Bruce grabbed Dick the best he could and tossed him over his shoulder into a fireman's carry. He carefully placed Dick down and set him up against the tree, with his back to the wind.

He'd have to search out shelter on his own. He agonized over leaving Dick alone, but he had no other choice. It would take them much too long and he too was beginning to feel the warning signs of hyperthermia.

He had to find something.

Fast.

"Dick??..D..Dick.. I'm ..g..going...t.to..find..some...s..shelter…I'll be… r..right ..b..back …for..y.you..ok? J.Just...d.don't ..go..t.to sleep... Sit.. here..ag..gainst the..t.t. tree.

Alr..right?" Bruce asked.

Dick didn't answer.

Bruce shook Dick's good shoulder, "D..Do..you hear..me???" Bruce demanded.

"Hhhm…mmm…y..yeah…" Dick mumbled barely above a whisper.

Bruce helped Dick to bring his knees up and wrap his other arm around his side to ward off the wind as much as possible. After securing Dick's hood, he got up and ran as fast as he could. The further he got, the denser the forest became. The wind wasn't as strong there for the refuge the trees offered. It was better, but not enough. He needed something more than just trees.

He'd been running non-stop for approximately 10 minutes when he found it.

It was a big rock. He ventured closer to be able to see it better. Large boulders were nestled among a group of large, old trees. Bushes and saplings had grown between the boulders and around the trees to form a triangle-shaped shelter. There was just enough space between two of the boulders for them to slide between and enter the crude shelter. It wasn't big, enough for 2 or 3 people. But that was fine for them. The small space of the shelter would make it easier to heat.

He exited back out and sprinted at top speed back for Dick.

When he reached the spot he has left his son, he found him curled up on the ground. He was trembling violently. His respirations were dangerously shallow. He needed to warm up and he need it right now.

"DICK!!" Bruce yelled as he performed a sternal rub in an effort to stimulate, and wake his son. "Come... on, op.pen .. your eyes!" Bruce dug his knuckles deeper into Dick's sternum. "D..Dick, …ANSWER M.ME, DAM.MN IT!!" Bruce screamed in Dick's face.

"Hhmm..."

"DICK... OP.PEN Y Y.. YOUR EYES. I n..need your help. You said b..before that I c.can alw..ways count on y..you right? I n..need you to open y..your eyes!" Bruce shouted.

It was of not use. Dick was no longer aware of anything.

Biting back a cry of pain from his arm, he threw Dick over his shoulder again and carried him as fast as he could, back to the shelter.

Bruce lowered Dick back down and held him up to his chest so they could fit through the narrow opening. Once inside, he laid Dick onto the floor of the shelter. He needed to warm the shelter, but how?!?.

Then he remembered Dick purchased lighters when they were at the store, back in Newark. He saw Dick put them in one of his pockets.

"I . .hope.. it was.sn't th..the sssame…p.pock.ket that…y you p.put y.your phone…" Bruce mumbled to himself as he searched in Dick's pockets.

Bruce breathed a sigh of relief when he found them in a pocket of his jeans. In his search, he had also found the power bars in one of Dick's coat pockets.

"You ..c..couldn't .. re..resist…the..temptation, huh?" Bruce said to himself.

'I never thought that there would be a use for his bottomless stomach.' Bruce smiled to himself, 'How many times had Alfred found chocolate wrappers in his pockets??'

Bruce hated to leave Dick alone again, but he had to search out some sort of firewood. He returned a short while later with enough to get them through the night; he dropped the bundle of sticks and twigs to the ground next to where they would sit. He decided the spot to have the fire would be was where there was an opening over the boulders, that would allow the smoke to escape.

It wasn't easy ... but using dried leaves he'd discovered where the boulders met the ground, he had the makings of a small fire. He'd allow it burn a little while, to establish itself before using more kindling to allow it to grow larger.

In the mean time, He rushed back to Dick's side.

Bruce tried to pick him up, but his injured arm screamed in protest. Instead, Bruce was forced to grab the front of Dick's coat and hoist him up to his hip so he could wrap his good arm around Dick's chest and drag him the short distance to a spot close to the fire.

Bruce had found himself in many unnerving situations as Batman. Nothing rattled him to the core than seeing his son's limp body before him. The way that his head fell back when he had lifted him by his coat. Then how it rolled lifelessly to the side when Bruce pulled Dick up against himself. But, what scared him most was when he noticed that Dick had stopped shivering.

No. Not even the merciless visions the Scarecrow's Fear Toxin would make him live through, not even Bane breaking his back or the multitude of traps and sick plots he had found himself in by the hands of the Joker, Two Face and all the other disturbed villains he had spent almost half of his life battling, could compare to the fear and near panic that now consumed him.

The fear and panic of losing his son.

Bruce pulled Dick up to him until his head rested upon Bruce's shoulder. He pulled Dick's hood down and removed his gloves. Then opened up his coat to allow the heat from the fire to reach his body. Bruce reached next to him and tossed a couple larger pieces of wood onto the fire. He leaned his head back to rest upon the boulder as he started to feel the warmth of the fire. He had almost forgotten what it felt like to be warm. It seemed as if the frigid night was literally melting off him.

After a few minutes.. when he felt the shelter was retaining the heat of the fire, Bruce carefully slipped out from behind his son and gently laid him back against the wall of the rock. He took off his own coat and placed it between Dick and the cold rock. After throwing more wood onto the fire, he was satisfied that it was burning hot enough to untie Dick's boots and check his feet.

'Good boy.' Bruce thought with a sigh of relief. Dick had worn his waterproof boots and his socks were dry. He removed the socks to check for any signs of frostbite. Relived that all was well, he massaged his feet to stimulate circulation before he replaced his socks and boots.

Bruce added more wood before he slipped behind Dick again hugged him up close, against his chest.

He lifted Dick's head from his shoulder and looked at his face. He was still very pale and his lips blue; but he could feel him slowly breathing and that in itself offered some relief. Tentatively, Bruce took his hand and gently brushed a strand of hair that was lying across Dick's forehead 'that could never stay in it's place' he thought with a smile.

Then frowned, looking to Dick face. He was starting to see things more clearly, 'We never shouldn't have come, damn it!Dick didn't even wanted to come in the first place. I made him. Now look what you did to him. I should have learned by now not to try and lead his life. Every time I do, he's the one who ends up suffering.' Bruce scolded himself.

Bruce snapped out of his thoughts when he realized Dick's body had began to shiver again. Relieved, Bruce immediately rubbed Dick's chest and arms vigorously.

He tried with all the will power he could muster up but he couldn't keep his eyes from closing. His eyelids all of a sudden weighed so much and it was becoming impossible to keep them open.

'Come on Wayne!, Don't fall asleep now'.

But his efforts proved to be in vain, for seconds later as the fire soothed the cold, injury and fatigue his body had been put through that night, the lost the battle and he no longer had a choice as the blackness consumed him.

_To be continued..._


	6. Chapter 6

_For disclaimer and summary, please see Chapter 1_

_Warnings: Strong language used in this chapter_

* * *

_Continued from Chapter 5..._

_Then frowned, looking to Dick face. He was starting to see things more clearly, 'We never shouldn't have come, damn it!Dick didn't even wanted to come in the first place. I made him. Now look what you did to him. I should have learned by now not to try and lead his life. Every time I do, he's the one who ends up suffering.' Bruce scolded himself._

_Bruce snapped out of his thoughts when he realized Dick's body had began to shiver again. Relieved, Bruce immediately rubbed Dick's chest and arms vigorously._

_He tried with all the will power he could muster up but he couldn't keep his eyes from closing. His eyelids all of a sudden weighed so much and it was becoming impossible to keep them open._

_'Come on Wayne!, Don't fall asleep now'._

_But his efforts proved to be in vain, for seconds later as the fire soothed the cold, injury and fatigue his body had been put through that night, the lost the battle and he no longer had a choice as the blackness consumed him._

* * *

Chapter 6 

…………………..

Bruce woke when he felt Dick flinch. He wasn't sure how long he'd been out. Bruce looked at his watch. It was almost midnight.

The shelter was much warmer now, thanks to the fire that was still burning and aside from the constant throbbing in his arm. Bruce became aware that they weren't shivering, like had been before. Yes, he definitely felt better.

Bruce looked down at Dick. His color and breathing were still not back to normal levels, but had greatly improved. The fire had served its purpose.

'Dick hadn't been conscious since I had to leave him and look for shelter; that was almost four hours ago. With a concussion, he need to wake up every couple of hours. Damn it.' Bruce scolded himself.

"Dick...? Dick, come on, wake up" Bruce tapped Dick's check with his good hand.

Bruce frowned when Dick offered no response. He tried giving Dick a nudge, "Dick?... Son, you have to wake now." Bruce ordered and shook Dick's good shoulder.

Dick's eyes moved under their lids.

"Dick... Wake up."

"hhmm..."

"You need to wake up. You can't sleep this long with a concussion."

"mmnnn..."

Bruce sighed and thought for a moment before deciding upon a tactic he'd used a couple times since his partner had joined his war on crime.

"Nightwing." He ordered in a deep growl. "Open your eyes. Right. Now!"

He waited a couple seconds as Dick took a step closer toward consciousness. Dick furrowed his brow, "B..Bat..man??" he mumbled in confusion.

"Yes." he answered with a tone that was less harsh. "Wake up, I want you to look at me."

Dick forced his eye lids to part. Then instantly squeezed them shut. "nnghh" Dick groaned under his breath. The light from the fired seared into his head. It took a while before he could fully open them.

"How are you feeling, chum" Bruce asked him.

"Wow, ... it seems like a lifetime since you called me that."

"I know Dick, I ... uh….." Bruce said with uncertainly.

"You what? What's wrong ?" whispered Dick looking up at him.

"I ,… I found the power bars in your coat pocket, but I think it would be a good idea if we kept held off until tomorrow. I'm not sure how long it will take until we're out of here. Does that sound ok to you?" Bruce said changing the topic. Why couldn't he ever express what needed to be said?

"That's fine, I couldn't eat anything right now anyway."

"Are you feeling any better though? Can you sit up?"

"...yeah" Dick answered.

Bruce slid out from behind Dick and helped him to sit up against the wall.

Dick made an silent, inward groan from the slight movement he'd made.

Bruce observed this and walked back over to Dick and looked him over.

"Here, let's do a proper job of immobilizing your arm now." Bruce said as he pulled out large roll of gauze from a pocket of his coat.

Dick was surprised, "What are you?? A walking first aide kit?? You got Alfred stuffed in there somewhere?"

"Very funny, but don't knock it." Bruce replied then knelt down in front of Dick, "Besides, with as much trouble as we always seem to find ourselves in," Bruce paused and waved a hand around the shelter for effect, "it never hurts to be prepared."

Dick gave him a crooked smile before he winced and sucked in a sharp gasp as Bruce helped him to scoot away from the boulder's wall.

He looked at Dick's shoulder for a moment.

"gggnnnaahhh!!" Dick ground out.

Bruce had to adjust the shoulder. With the jostling that it had been through since Bruce popped it back into joint over 5 hours ago, it had moved out of alignment slightly.

Bruce looked down to his son, "You alright?"

Dick cleared his throat, "..yeah.." he said in a breathy voice, trying to keep his stomach from rebelling.

"Sorry, I should have warned you first."

"No.. no, it's alright. Let's just finish this already." Dick said through clenched teeth.

Dick's held his injured arm to his chest as Bruce wrapped the roll of gauze snugly around his chest and back.

Bruce finished and looked down to his son, who had his eyes closed.

"Ok?" he asked

Dick nodded. "...yeah. I'm ok." He looked at Bruce and gave him a weak smile.

Bruce tousled Dick's hair, then gently helped him lean back against the wall of the boulder before placing his coat over him.

"How long did it take you to collect that all?" Dick asked nodding toward a large pile of sticks and twigs.

He knew that trying to starting a fire from wet and/or green wood would be a waste of time. The only way Bruce could have accomplished it was if he had hunted for dead branches that hung in trees or were otherwise suspended above the ground. The hanging limbs might have been be wet, but the snow would not have had much time to soak into the wood.

"Not long, we were fortunate enough that the high winds had blown down several a large branches a couple trees."

Dick noticed there was something different about Bruce... the way he added wood to the fire... he tried to control his focus, then noticed Bruce was using his left hand.

"What happened to your arm?" Dick inquired.

"Nothing" Bruce replied quickly.

"Really. Huh. Enlighten me then. When did you suddenly decide to become left-handed." Dick said in a sarcastic tone.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it?" Dick raised his voice, "Why. Why can't I worry about it Bruce? Huh. Tell me. Because I'd really like to know."Bruce snapped his attention to Dick, hiding his surprise at the sudden outburst. He thought of the bad concussion Dick had and knew a change of behavior was a common symptom.

"Dick, look. I didn't mean anything by that, look, it's probably just a fracture."

"The hell you didn't. For some reason you didn't think you could trust me this piece of information" Dick said, then started to stand up. He got half way there before he bent over and placed his free hand on the boulder to steady himself.

"Dick, you need to sit back down. I know you're feeling frustrated and angry, but trust me, this is a side effect from your concussion. Your head took a nasty crack back there and you're only going to make yourself feel worse if you continue to yell and upset yourself." Bruce told Dick as he walked back over to where his son was attempting to stand up.

Dick managed to raise his head to look at Bruce and panted, "Don't patronize me Bruce, come on, let's take off the gloves and hash this out. Once and for all. You've never completely trusted me, have you? All the years we worked together. I was good enough for your mission. To be one of your good little soldiers. Good enough fight beside you; to risk my life without question or concern. Just like I promised the day I took your oath in the Batcave."

"I gave everything up for you, Bruce, everything. Anything extra curricular. Instead of football practice or playing basketball with friends after school I came home, did my studies for my classes, then had your classes." Dick stood up all the way and instantly realized, it was a bad idea. The small shelter began to whirl around him. He swayed for a moment and leaned heavily on the wall to steady himself once again.

"Sit. Back. Down." Bruce said and took hold of Dick's arm. "Now."

Dick looked at Bruce, desperately trying to ignore the vertigo that plagued his body. "Your classes, Bruce." Dick continued. "World's Greatest Detective, Room 101, with Professor Bat." He said with a sneer as he yanked his arm away from Bruce's grip.

That final movement proved to be too much. The throbbing in Dick's head pounded hard enough that he felt it radiate throughout his body, amplifying the pain in his shoulder and side. He dug his fingers into the wall of the shelter, trying to anchor himself against the darkness that had started to tug at the edges of his consciousness. Against his will, his knees gave out and found the ground rushing up toward him.

"Uuunngh..." Dick grunted through clenched teeth as he felt Bruce's arm wrap around his side just before he would have hit the ground.

"No" Dick said, his face is pinched in pain.

"No, what?" Bruce asked.

"Out...side." Dick swallowed hard, "...now!"

Bruce led Dick outside only to have Dick push him away and fall onto his knees in the snow.

After what seemed like an eternity to Dick, his stomach finally stopped its spasms.

Dick's head was splitting from the intense retching. He let out a long deep groan as he sat back on his heels and dropped his head into his hand. He coughed a couple times then leaned his face down to the snow, the cold it offered felt so good.

Bruce took a step toward his son and placed his hand on his back, "Dick, ... are you alright?"

Dick didn't say anything.

He couldn't

The pain.

The roar created by each beat of his heart filled his head.

"Come on son, let's get you back by the fire." said Bruce as he began to help Dick get up.

Dick didn't move. It would appear that he hadn't even hear him.

Bruce leaned over and wrapped his arm around Dick's side to help him stand up.

"Nooooo..." Dick moaned, almost in a whisper.

"Can't ... move ... not ... ri..right. ...nnnghh... now" Dick said, his head still to the ground.

Bruce was now starting to think he underestimated Dick's injuries. He was not proud to say that he had seen Dick with his fair share of concussions. In the 15 years that he'd been fighting the war on crime beside his partner, he wasn't sure if he had ever seen one that had affect him this bad.

"Dick..." Bruce whispered, bending down trying to see his son's face, "You have to get out of the cold."

Again, Bruce stood up and tried to bring Dick up with him. Dick had successfully placed one foot under him and was attempting to stand before he stumbled into the snow. He rolled onto his back; eyes pinched shut and his breaths were sharp and shallow. He bit his lip to keep from crying out against the pain that coursed its way through his body.

Bruce knelt next to his son. With his good arm, he snaked his hand behind Dick's shoulders, and raised him to his chest in an effort to get him out of the snow as much as possible.

"Br.. Bruce... nnngh.. no... n..no... pl..ea..se...do..n't.. nngh... move.. me; .. huuurtsss .. too ..much."

"I know, chum, but you can't stay out here lying in the snow. Your jeans are still damp from the time we've already spent in the snow. You don't even have your coat on."

When Dick gave no response, Bruce made a decision.

"You're going to hate me for this, but I AM getting you back in the shelter. You ARE going to move. If you refuse, I'll sling you over my shoulder like I did earlier. I guarantee that will not help your headache or vertigo."

Dick opened one eye and looked up at his mentor. Bruce wasn't bluffing.

Dick closed his eyes again and took a breath. "Ok...but ..we go .. slow."

"Deal." Bruce agreed before he slowly stood up and took Dick under his good arm to help him to his feet. He then wrapped Dick's arm around his neck and put his arm around Dick's side. Dick didn't seem to be able to offer much help. Bruce felt more like he was dragging him than helping him stay on his feet.

Inside the shelter once again, Bruce gently settled Dick back to the ground and held Dick's head up in his hands, "Dick...open your eyes, I want to see your pupils" Bruce ordered. Dick's condition was rapidly worsening. He needed to see if there was any change since he last checked him over.

"Never enough..." Dick whispered.

"That's not true Dick."

"gave ... everything ... still not... enough..."

"Dick...look at me"

"You adopted Jason the day you brought him home. It took you 15 years to adopt me. Just so you could have an heir.."

"Dick, that's NOT true!!" Bruce demanded.

Bruce ran his fingers through his hair. 'Yes, a lot of this was because of the concussion, yet... this isn't just random delirium.' Bruce thought, 'These are demons Dick must have been keeping to himself; hidden deep inside.'

Then continued in a softer tone, "These feelings of yours... I'm ... I... I didn't know..."

"Not.. true...always... knew...the Bat... knows ...everything..." Dick said as he put his head into his hand.

"Why Bruce?... I was there... for you... wasn't I...when you... needed me" Dick paused, "...I needed... you .. there for me...too.. you know... need you too." Dick said with a shaky voice,"and then, because one night on that rooftop, I wasn't fast enough, you fire me. Told me that it was too dangerous for a child. Just to recruit a new robin some months later. Someone younger than me! A bit hypocritical don't you think? Robin was mine, ...Bruce,.. Mine. My mother gave me the name... you had bno right to take it away...and give it to other..."

"I didn't fire you because of that, and you know it. Come on Dick, you're not that naive" Bruce replied, but Dick couldn't stop. The flood gates to his pain had been opened and he couldn't stop.

" Then, ... with Bane... shit, Bruce, your back broken...you were in a DAMN wheel chair...and you didn't even let me know?!?" Dick tried to sit up straighter, "I had to find out from someone else ...what had happened...I immediately dropped everything, ready to do whatever you needed me to. I found out...Jean Paul... was granted the responsibility of being your replacement... After all my training and our battles together I wasn't good enough?"

"Dick, it wasn't like that..."

"Come on, Bruce!...level with me. Stop feeding me your crap. You didn't think that I'd be able to handle the responsibility of taking up the Mantle of the Bat. ..Thought... I ...couldn't do your work...that I wasn't able... to protect your ...precious Gotham. ...It's was always Gotham...

"Dick, stop. You are delirius..."

"Stop? Why?? because you're hearing the truth...and the truth hurts doesn't it, Bruce." Dick sneered. "Well, too damn bad. There's no where for you to go running off to this time. There's no files to work on, no Arkham residents to round up and The Bat symbol isn't lit." Dick said as he leaned his head against the wall again and closed his eyes. Silence settled in around them for a moment.

Bruce got up and stood at the entrance of the shelter and looked out into the night. He had to tear himself out of this fight. Dick wasn't himself. He had never attacked him like this before. It just wasn't his style of confrontation.

"Why didn't you called me when you needed me... " Dick asked in a small voice.

"You said that you had your own life and didn't want to be in Batman's shadow." Bruce answered without turning around.

"That's a load of crap! Do you honestly think that would have been my answer?" Dick asked; his face showed an expression of both hurt and furry. "Do you think that little of my loyalty? Did you really think that I would not have come running the instant you asked for help??" Dick sighed. "But that was the problem wasn't it Bruce, your damned pride. You couldn't allow yourself to ask me for help. You always had to be the stronger one."

Bruce turned around to face his son, "Dick... enough for now. You're getting worked up again and you don't need this."

"Always an excuse for you isn't there Bruce,...you've always got an out... sorry to break it to you big man, but you're not going to use me as your escape route We're doing this right here right now" Dick said, sarcasm dripped from his words as he shot Bruce a glare.

Bruce could no longer bear to brunt the force of Dick's angry words. "OK!, You have to do this now?! Fine!!" Bruce shouted.

Dick flinched at the volume of Bruce's voice. A new set of hammers took up residence in his head.

"I did trust you Dick, I always did!" Bruce yelled "You did replace me, and you did it great!!"

"Sure, when Jean Paul went more nuts than usual and you didn't have any other choice!" Dick argued.

"I didn't want to put you at that risk, Dick!" Bruce shot back.

"RISK?!? What the hell do you think my whole life has been molded around, you self righteous, bastard?!"

"AND WHY DO YOU THINK I FIRED YOU?!?" Bruce thundered.

"BECAUSE I WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH!!!" Dick groaned and instantly regretted his outburst.

"NO! I didn't want you to keep on with the life that we lead!! I fired you because I was worried about you. Joker could have killed you that night!!"

"Because I made a mistake." Dick coughed, "I wasn't fast enough!" Dick said as he attempted to rise to his feet again.

"Dick, Don't. Get. Up." Bruce ordered.

Dick was too mad to sit on the ground while Bruce paced before him.

"FUCK. YOU, Bruce! I'm done taking your orders! I'm not your nine year old little 'ward' anymore Bruce!" Dick spat out. He had successfully moved to a more vertical position.

"Ward" Dick sneered at the sound of the word, "I've always hated that word." "You fired me. Just like that. I had no say in the matter. You stripped me of my identity, Bruce. Robin wasn't a separate consciousness residing in my mind. IT WAS PART OF ME. You tore away a part of me!!"

"So you left. Walked out."

"Why would I have stayed? You didn't adopted me so I wasn't your son, I was 18 so was no longer your ward. And we both know I wasn't Robin so tell me Bruce, just what the hell was I doing there?? Shit Bruce, you didn't even come to my graduation..." Dick said as he slid down the wall of the shelter, coming to a rest one knee. "either of them."

Bruce fell silent.

"Why?... Which one of your villains were taking center stage with you that night Bruce?" Dick spat out. "You were too busy in Gotham. No, wait, Batman was too busy, in Gotham. ...always Gotham... always between us... always first..."

"Look, Dick, I'm sorry about that, and..."

"No matter what I do, I'll always be second…"

"ENOUGH!" Bruce yelled.

Dick flinched and squeezed his eyes closed.

Bruce took a deep breath, then placed a hand on Dick's arm to help him to sit back down.

"Dick, I didn't want you to be Batman because I didn't want you to carry that on your shoulders, ok? Batman has always been about ... darkness."

Bruce carefully leaned Dick back, against the wall.

"You're not like that, Dick. You ... don't know what it was like before you came into my life. I lived in complete darkness; without feelings. I wouldn't allow anyone to get close to me, just Alfred. But .. then came you. You were the were the only ray of light, able to break through that darkness." Bruce admitted.

"When I looked at you I always saw a younger me. You were never second. I know that I never told you these things, and I'm sorry, but you a great person. And you are great because of who you are. I don't want you to become me."

Dick smiled at that "Then why did you bring me on this trip? To learn steps to be the CEO?"

"I told you. Because you are the only one I trust hand the position of CEO down to. The same goes for when the time comes that I cannot be Batman anymore. These decisions will be up to you and if you choose to accept them, I know you'll do a great job. Most likely, better than me in most ways."

Dick eyes began to tear up.

Bruce sat beside him, "You always did better than I did. When you lost everything, you didn't allow darkness consume you, like I did. You were able to keep being you. That can only mean one thing. You are stronger."

With that last comment Dick looked at Bruce, "That's not true. I'm not stronger or better."

Dick brought his knees up to his chest, rested his elbow on a knee and placed his head in his hand. Bruce noticed they still didn't have their coats on and Dick had begun to shiver.

'The rage of the fight, had provided more than enough heat for the moment, but now...', Bruce thought

He put his arm around Dick and gently pulled his son to him. Bruce took their coats and covered themselves again.

Dick allowed his head to lean back and rest on Bruce's shoulder.

He needed to rest.

Just for a minute.

Too much. Too fast.

Couldn't keep up... couldn't think.

"Dick, I'm not the one who says you aren't good enough. It's you. You're the one who says you're not. You are a far better person than you give yourself credit for. You have many loyal and very close friends. You, yourself are a very loyal and fearless warrior and leader. A great teacher and student. The best acrobat in the world. And the ultimate brother and ... son, that any father would be proud of. You have to believe in yourself, Dick. Just like you believed and trusted in me."

Dick had been very quiet and Bruce was sure he had fallen asleep.

"Not believe'd' and trust'ed', Bruce,... believe...trust..." Dick said through a full-body tremble.

Bruce looked down to his son and his heart broke to see him in so much pain. Physically and emotionally.

"Bruce..." Dick whispered.

"Ssshhhhh..." Bruce said as he gently laid his hand to Dick's head, "Later. No more for now...Rest son."

_To be continued... _

* * *

_There you are boys and girls! We hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as we enjoyed writing it. Thank you for all the reviews, they help to feed our muse._


	7. Chapter 7

**Road to Healing**

For Summary and Disclosure, please see Chapter 1.

* * *

_Continued from Chapter 6..._

_Dick brought his knees up to his chest, restedhis elbow on one knee and placed his head in his hand. Bruce noticed theystill didn't have their coats on and Dick had begun to shiver._

_Bruce thought to himself, The rage of the fight, had provided more than enough heat for the moment, but now...'_

_He put his arm around Dick and gently pulled his son to him. Bruce took their coatsand covered themselves again._

_Dick allowed his head to lean back and rest on Bruce's shoulder._

_He needed to rest._

_Just for a minute._

_Too much. Too fast._

_Couldn't keep up... couldn't think._

_"Dick,I'm not the one who says you aren't good enough. It's you. You're theone who says you're not. You are a far better person than you giveyourself credit for. You have many loyal and very close friends. You,yourself are a very loyal and fearless leader and __warrior__. A greatteacher and student. The best acrobat in the world. And the ultimatebrother and ... son, that any father could ask for. You have tobelieve in yourself, Dick. Just like you believed and trusted in me."_

_Dick had been very quiet and Bruce was sure he'd fallen asleep._

_"Not believe'd' and trust'ed', Bruce,... believe...trust..." Dick said through a full-body tremble._

_Bruce looked down to his son and his heart broke tosee him in so much pain. Physically and emotionally._

_"Bruce..." Dick whispered._

_"Ssshhhhh..." Bruce said as he gently laid his hand to Dick's head, "Later. No more for now...Rest son."_

* * *

_Chapter 7_

Bruce woke to the sound of Dick's wet cough and furrowed his brow, 'I remember him sneezing in the plane, but that was when he took out the blankets from the overhead compartment. Could have been dust.' Bruce continued to travel back through time putting the clues together.

'He coughed a few times when we made a pit stop but we chalked it up to the very dry, cold air. Dick sucked in plenty of that while he was complaining about my company or, there lack of. Then..., last night, after vomiting. Normal. And then again, after shouting during our... hmpf... "talk." that also, not entirely uncommon... but still. Put it all together ...'

Bruce finished his deductive reasoning as he placed his hand to Dick's forehead. He wasn't entirely sure, but he thought Dick felt warm. 'Damn it' Bruce thought, 'Can't seem to catch a break, can we, chum?'

Dick woke up at Bruce's touch, coughed again then blinked away the lingering grogginess of sleep. He felt like someone had stuffed his nose with cotton balls, Great. Just friggin' great'. Dick thought to himself. I'm buying a case of latex gloves as soon as I get back. I'm gonna leave a box on every desk, in every locker with a note. _If you're sick wear them and keep your damn germs to yourself!!'_

"Hey partner, how you feeling?" Bruce asked whenhe realized Dick had opened his eyes.

Dick looked up at Bruce, "Not sure yet, vision's better; not seeing double anymore. My head, however, still feels like Eleanor sat on it."

"I'm sure that's not just because of your concussion." Bruce said

_Giisshoo!!_ Dick sneezed into his arm. " Yeah well..." he said and sniffed while rubbing his good hand over his eyes. With a grunt, he attempted to sit up.

Bruce gave him a small push, then got up himself and stepped outside the shelter to see what the daylight revealed for them. Nothing gave any clue as to which direction would prove be the best choice for survival. He'd go backup to the road, but with that steep incline and all the snow from the night before, They'd just keep sliding back down with the loose snow. No. They'd have to trek on in different direction.

'But which way?' Bruce thought as he rubbed the stubble on his chin, Well, at least the snow had stopped. 'That's one thing we have working for us'.

Bruce walked back into the shelter, met by the sight of Dick unwinding the gauze binding that kept his arm secured to his chest.

"Dick, don't remove that." Bruce said as he walked to the glowing embers and placed a few sticks on top, then bent down to blow on the coals. After a couple puffs, the fire started back up with ease and quickly warmed the small shelter once more.

"I have to, my hand is numb. I've gotta move it around some."

"Ok, but just for a few minutes" Bruce said as he knelt down to help. "I was in a hurry last night, Maybe I wrapped it too tight."

Bruce looked at Dick's arm and frowned. "No, it's not too tight, Dick. Your arm is swollen." Bruce said as he began to unbutton Dick's flannel shirt. Dick bit his lip and winced as Bruce gently slipped it off his shoulder before rolling up the sleeve of his t-shirt.

Bruce looked at the bruises to Dick's shoulder and arm before asking, "Can you bend your arm at the elbow?"

Dick tried, then hissed sharply, "Barely."

Bruce was concerned. It didn't look good. His arm was swollen from the collarbone to just below his elbow. Without an x-ray he couldn't be sure if it was just a dislocation, or something more serious.

"Hold on." Bruce pulled the collar of Dick's t-shirt to the side and peaked inside. He got up quickly and took his son under his good arm to help him to his feet.

"What are you doing?" Dick asked as he was lead closer to the fire.

"I want to see what other injuries you're not telling me about." Bruce replied as he helped Dick to sit back down.

"You're one to talk."

Bruce ignored the comment and pulled up the back of Dick's t-shirt. He shook his head in disbelief, Stubborn!' Dick's back had massive bruising to the entire right half; his side displayed an interesting mix of red and purple welts.

He looked Dick in the face. "So, how many broken ribs, are you figuring?"

Dick shrugged one shoulder, "I don't think any... maybe just a couple cracked"

"Mmm hmm.." Bruce grunted as he placed his hands on Dick's side and gently pressed.

Dick bit his tongue to keep from gasping as Bruce made is way up his torso.

"Mngghh" Dick grunted and quickly grabbed Bruce's hand to removed it from his side.

"How bad?" Bruce asked.

"Well, it doesn't feel _good_, but I've had worse." Dick said and pulled his t-shirt down.

Bruce sat back on one knee and thought for a moment, then grabbed his coat. He pulled the sleeve inside out and ripped out the nylon liner; tying it off at one end. He then waked out to the snow and packed it full before tying off the other end.

"This will get messy after some time, but it's all we have." He said and helped Dick lay back against the wall.

"You. Are. NOT. To move that arm until I get back" Bruce said in Batman's voice. He placed the snow pack on Dick's shoulder, then covered him with this coat.

Dick winced with the initial shock of the cold. "Where are you going?" he asked in disapproval.

"I'm going to walk around a bit and see if I can find something to point us in a the right direction."

"Ooohh no." Dick said as he started to sit up. "You're not going to there by yourself. What if something happens? How do I know if you are ok??"

"Nothing is going to happen, Dick. I'm just going to look around. I won't be gone long."

"You're _not _going out there alon...nnggah! .." Dick let out a small cry of pain as he tried to get up.

Bruce knelt down and eased his son back down.

Dick pounded his good fist on the ground in frustration.

"Dick. Stay still would ya? Count to a thousand. Name the bats in the cave. Anything... For once.., just stay still. Ok?" Bruce asked with a hint of a smile.

Dick closed his eyes in surrender, "Fine." then looked over at Bruce, "But you've got 20 minutes. If you're not back by then, I'm gonna come looking for ya. And if I have to get up on my own and find you, your ass'd better in some damn big trouble. Because if not, I'm gonna kick the shit out of it."

Bruce gave Dick a grunt, then adjusted the snow pack on his shoulder. Standing up, Bruce zipped it up his coat then paused at the opening to the shelter and pointed a gloved finger at his son, "Stay." was the last thing he said before he dissapeared from sight.

_To be continued..._


	8. Chapter 8

For summary and disclosure, please see Chapter 1

_

* * *

Previously on Road to Healing... _

"_You. Are. NOT. To move that arm until I get back" Bruce said in Batman's voice. He placed the snow pack on Dick's shoulder, then covered him with his coat. _

Dick winced with the initial shock of the cold. "Where are you going?" he asked in disapproval.

"I'm going to walk around a bit and observe our surroundings."

"Ooohh no." Dick said as he started to sit up. "You're not going out there by yourself. What if something happens? How do I know if you are ok??"

"Nothing is going to happen, Dick. I'm just going to look around. I won't be gone long."

"You're **not** going out there alon...nnggah!.." Dick let out a small cry of pain as he tried to get up.

Bruce knelt down and eased his son back down.

Dick pounded his good fist on the ground in frustration.

"Dick. Stay still would ya? Count to a thousand. Name the bats in the cave. Anything... For once.., just stay still. Ok?" Bruce asked with a hint of a smile.

Dick closed his eyes in surrender, "Fine." then looked over at Bruce, "But you've got 20 minutes. If you're not back by then, I'm gonna come looking for ya. And if I have to get up on my own and find you, your ass'd better in some damn big trouble. Because if not, I'm gonna kick the shit out of it."

Bruce gave Dick a grunt, then adjusted the snow pack on his shoulder. Standing up, Bruce zipped it up his coat then paused at the opening to the shelter and pointed a gloved finger at his son, "Stay." was the last thing he said before he disappeared from sight.

* * *

Chapter 8

Dick sat against the wall of the boulder and impatiently glanced at his watch for the umpteenth time since Bruce had left. '25 minutes.'

"-_Giishoo_!!- -sniff-"

"Damn it, Bruce, I told you"..._gnnph_.. "to let me go with you." Dick grumbled to himself as he began the laborious process of getting to his feet. He stood there for a moment, 'This is going to be _less _than pleasant' Dick thought as he reached down and grabbed his coat. Trying to think past the pain, he bit down on his lip and gingerly dropped his injured arm in then pulled it up to his shoulder.

"Ok.., "One down.., _-kaff-kaff-_ ...one to go." he said then he reached his good arm behind to snag the opening of its sleeve. "Not...fun."Dick breathed as he leaned over for a moment.

He took a deep breath and released it slowly while standing up straight and contemplated the best way to go about conquering the zipper. After pinning the edge of his coat against the boulder with his left hip, Dick managed to bring the zipper together, then pull it up.

Having took his gloves out of his pockets, Dick attempted to slide his left hand into its glove and tugged gently with his good hand. "_Nghh. _Ok... Guess _that's_ not going to happen." Dick breathed deeply and waited for his lightheadedness to lift. After a couple seconds, he opened his eyes and made his way out of the shelter.

Dick stopped just outside the shelter and placed his good hand against the rock, _"-Giisshoo!!-_" then turned to the side, pinched one nostril closed, then snorted as hard as he could. He repeated the process to the other side to preform the perfect 'Farmer's Handkerchief'. "-_sniff-_ Ban... what I wouldd't give for a box of dissues."

Dick stood there for a minute in the bright sun, grateful that it had stopped snowing. After looking around for a moment, he spotted Bruce's foot prints in the snow and began to follow. After about 10 minutes of walking, Dick stopped and strained to decipher the abnormal sounds that came from a distance.

'What **_is_** that?..,' Dick thought, then walked ahead a dozen steps before stopping again. He tilted his head and scowled, '.. Dogs?.' A second later his scowl melted into an expression of dread. "Ohhhh _nooo_, no, no, No!" Dick moaned as realization set in.

The cold air bit into his lungs with furry as he sprinted through the knee-deep snow. Dick followed the sounds, then slowed to a stealth walk as he crouched down and observed the situation.

Two wolves, five yards away, lay motionless. Bruce kept another one at arms length, haven drove a branch between the animal's angry jaws. In an attempt to shove the wolf back, the branch snapped in two, causing Bruce's forward momentum to send him directly into the wolf's path. Bruce prepared for the worst as he saw the wolf lean back on its haunches, readying itself to pounce.

Before he could even bring his arms up to his face, Dick flew in front of him and plowed into the wolf at top speed. He managed to twist and fling it off to the side before hitting the ground. Dick struggled for only a moment in getting to his feet. The wolf, however, faired much better.

Bruce saw the wolf quickly scramble to his feet and propel itself into the air. The only thing he could to do protect his partner was to shout a warning, "Dick!! Your right!!!"

Dick spun around in time to block the wolf's midair attack but the agile beast held the upper ground as Dick fell backward into the deep snow. His only defense was to clamp his hands around the wolf's neck and push it back.

"**NNNGGHHAAA**!!" Dick cried out in agony against the strenuous use of his injured shoulder. The wolf curled back its lips into a menacing snarl as it gnashed its teeth together. Fighting against Dick's limited strength, the wolf lunged forward with brute strength.

Arms raised his high above his head, Bruce vaulted himself toward the wolf. Using all his might, he brought his hands down together and drove the broken branch into the ravishing animal's hind quarter.

Meanwhile, another wolf, which materialized out of nowhere, quickly picked out the lamer of its two targets. With supernatural speed, it lunged for Dick's throat. However, only succeeded in sinking its teeth into a mouthful of his coat. The hunger-driven wolf snarled and growled viciously as it slung its head from side to side in unyielding determination.

Without wasting a second, Bruce kicked the wolf at the base its skull, momentarily stunning it, before he flung it into a nearby tree, rendering it unconscious.

Bruce stood guard, locked in a staring match with the other injured wolf before it turned and retreated further into the forest.

"AAAAGGGggghhhhh..."

Bruce snapped his attention to Dick who was attempting to push himself off the ground.

"Oh _G-d_, Dick..." said Bruce as he observed his son's condition for the first time since the attack and crouched down, next to his side.

Dick looked to Bruce with pain-filled eyes, "..ssspaa...sms..." he groaned through clenched teeth and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Muscle spasms? Where? Front or back?" Bruce asked.

"...mmgnh... yes..."

"Ok. Let me see... Move your hand... Come on, Dick, I have to see." Bruce coached as Dick slowly complied.

Bruce removed the glove from his left hand and unzipped Dick's coat part way. "I'm not going to do anything. I'm just going to feel your shoulder lightly. Ok?"

Dick nodded slowly while taking sharp, shallow breaths.

Bruce gently slipped his hand under the collar of Dick's t-shirt, then lightly moved his hand across the shoulder and upper arm. He made an inward wince as he felt Dick's muscles succumb to the fierce contractions. Bruce looked back to Dick and frowned at his color and breathing.

"Have they been this intense the entire time?"

"..don't..-_huff -huff_-...ggnnnhh.. know..." Dick ground out.

Bruce gently ran the tips of his fingers over Dick's shoulder. "Can you feel that?"

"...wha...what?" Dick mumbled.

"Dick. Look at me. Can you feel this?" Bruce asked again as he ran his fingers over the area around his shoulder.

"..uh...nngh... ye.. yeah.. I guess... yes..and..no."

"Concentrate. Tell me where you can feel my hand move."

Dick focused on Bruce for a moment, then answered a series of 'yes' and 'no's. "Nerve -_kaff-_ damage?"

"Not necessarily. Torn ligaments and muscles, yes. But, you only missed a couple areas, so I'm inclined to chalk that up to swelling and trauma shock."

Dick closed his eyes and swallowed hard, "Shit,...-_kaff-kaff-..._rehab's gonna take _-kaff_- forever."

Bruce nodded, "That it will. However, that's a discussion for another time. Let's get you off the ground."

"..'k." Dick replied and took a couple deep breaths.

Bruce slid his arm behind Dick's back and slowly helped him to sit up. "Ready?"

Dick nodded as Bruce took him under his good arm and helped him to stand.

"aaghh..." Dick grunted and swayed a bit. Bruce placed his arm around Dick's side to steady him then took off his other glove and ski cap. "Here."

Dick looked at the offered items then back to Bruce, "No, Bruce. I'm not taking your stuff."

"Dick, swallow your pride and think for a moment. You're sick. I'm not. What would you do if roles were reversed?"

"...-_sigh-_ fiiine."

"Come on, give me your hand." Bruce instructed and helped Dick into the gloves then, paused to feel his face before putting on the ski cap. "You're running a fever."

"Your hands are just cold." Dick dismissed.

"No, I noticed it before, I just wasn't sure." Bruce said as swept the hair from Dick's forehead under his cap. "Alright, let's go."

They walked in silence for a while before Dick struck up a conversation, "So..uh..during your little trek through the woods...did you fi..fi..-_Gisshoo_-..-_kaff-kaff-_ figure out what you want to do?"

"Bless you. The best I can figure, we're near a small town called Meadow Lake; northwest of us. Population roughly 3800. We'll head out that way."

"Okaaaay... but wouldn't it be best to stay put? I mean we're near the highway, we have a documented landing in Newark, They're expecting us in Edmonton once Bruce Wayne doesn't -_kaff-_ show for the high..-_kaff-kaff-_ highly publicized opening, news -_kaff-_ will -_kaff-_ spreadlikewildfire."

Dick sped through the rest of his sentence before he was consumed by a coughing fit causing him to bend over and support himself on one knee. Bruce placed his hand on Dick's back and bent down to see his face. "You alright?"

Dick nodded, "-_kaff-kaff-_ ..ye..-_kaff_- yeah.. -_kuuuuuff..-kaff-kaff-_"

"Try swallowing repeatedly... Good, now clear your throat quietly and gently, it works better to do it that way rather than loud and strenuously." Bruce coached.

Dick cleared his throat a couple more times, then spit out a wad of phlegm which allowed the fit to subside. "...uuughh"He groaned as he slowly stood back up and took a couple wayward steps.

Bruce steadied him again, "Ready?"

"Does it matter if I am? It's not like you can bring the shelter to me, _-kaff-_ besides it's right up there."

"Hm. Remind me to give Alfred a generous raise when we get back." Bruce said as they continued walking.

Dick looked up to him, "Not that he doesn't always deserve it... but, why?"

"You're grumpy when you're sick."

"Glass houses, Bruce. Glass houses." Dick said as they neared the shelter.

"Finally." Dick breathed as he eased himself to the ground and closed his eyes.

Bruce tended to the fire which hadn't completely burnt itself out. After a couple minutes of pampering, it was burning strong again.

"Let's get your coat off." Bruce said and knelt down next to Dick.

"No..." Dick said quietly.

"Dick, you need to ice that shoulder."

"Not now... Bruce... just let me stay like this for a little while...hurts too damn much to move."

"Sorry, chum... it's got to be now." Bruce told him as he unzipped the coat and gingerly moved it little as possible."

They got half way through pulling his good arm out before he turned very pale, "..mmngh...wait, wait.."

"Deep breaths, find your zone.." Bruce quietly guided Dick through a disassociation technique. He waited a minute or two for Dick's features to softened and regain some color. Then slowly removed the rest of his coat.

"Dick." Bruce softly called him out of meditation.

Dick's eyes fluttered open as he took a couple another deep breath.

"I want to test your range of motion. Can you move your wrist for me?"

Dick thought about it for a minute, then grimaced as he slowly twisted it. "Only about half way to each side."

"That's ok, Now. I'm going to put my hand under your forearm. I do not want you to attempt to move your arm. I will support and control it. I am going to slowly move your arm down a fraction of an inch at a time to see how far you can extend your arm. Ok?"

Dick bit down on his lip and looked at his arm before nodding.

"Ready?... Ok, now... I've got it. Let go with your other hand. I promise, I won't let it move until I tell you."

"Ok, here we go." Bruce said as he slowly began to lower Dick's arm. They got approximately 5 inches before it became too much. Dick groaned loudly and doubled over.

Bruce put his hand on his back,"Ok, ..It's ok... " he said then noticed the make-shift ice pack they used earlier and went outside to refill it.

Bruce sat down and gently pulled Dick against himself. "Here, let's just ice it for a while and then we'll secure your arm to your chest again; keep it from moving. That will help with the pain." he said then covered Dick with his coat.

Dick didn't reply, just laid his head back against Bruce's shoulder and closed his eyes tight in an attempt to take control of the pain like he'd been trained.

"...ipping."

Bruce snapped his eyes open, "What?" he asked, not even realizing he'd closed them to begin with.

Dick cleared his throat, "I said, it's dripping."

Bruce looked down and noticed the ice pack Dick held off to his right as it made a puddle on the ground next to them. Bruce took it and set it down. "How's the shoulder?"

"..hurts... partially numb."

"How are you feeling otherwise?"

"...tired...cold..." Dick answered quietly.

"You shouldn't be cold, regardless of the pack, it's relatively warm in here." Bruce said, then turned to look at his face, "You're flushed. I think your temperature's up again."

"..'k." Dick answered just above a whisper.

"Sit up some, I'm going to get up." Bruce gently slid out from behind Dick and brought in a couple hand fulls of snow.

"Here, Dick, eat."

Dick opened his eyes, "What?"

Bruce squatted down, "The snow, eat it. It will bring down your temp."

Dick turned away from Bruce and coughed a few times then took the snow ball. He forced it down, then rested his head down on his knees and closed his eyes again.

Bruce ate one of his own then reached over to Dick's coat and pulled out a power bar from one of it's pockets. "Wow... I didn't even remember _-kaff-kaff_- that was in there." Dick said when Bruce gave him a slight nudge.

"And it's a good thing too. If you did, we wouldn't have any left by now." Bruce as he opened the bar and placed it in Dick's good hand.

Dick looked at it and then at Bruce, "Where's yours?"

"I'm fine for now. You eat. When I need one, I'll eat."

"Yeah, right. Look, if you don't eat, I don't eat either"

"Dick, I told you. I don't need it now."

"Good, because neither do I. You know what they say about that Canada snow,... fills you right up." Dick coughed into his arm and rested his aching head in his hand. "..ugh...besides, I'm still nauseous, I don't want to eat just to throw it back up. Waste it when you could have had it."

"Ok, look, if I have some, will you eat too?" Bruce asked.

"How many bars do we have?"

"Four, including the one in your hand"

"Alright." Dick agreed.

Dick broke the bar in two and handed Bruce half. Bruce waited until Dick finished his piece then reached over and picked up the rolled up wrap.

"Let's secure your arm again, then when you are up to it, we have to get going again."

"Riiight.. Uh.. Back to my original question.." Dick asked as he scooted away from the boulder, "Wouldn't it be smarter to stay in the shelter and wait for a search and rescue team?"

"No. We have to leave." Bruce said without skipping a beat.

Dick looked at Bruce as if he had bats flying out his butt.

"What do you _mean_ we have to leave?! Bruce, you saw us back there.._-kuff-kuff-_ We could barely handle a few wolves! You know they're still out there and I'll bet you they have friends!"

"I know, but more likely than not, they'll come back and bring their friends _with_ them."

"But, Bruce!"

"We can't hold them off, Dick!"

"Wait a minute, Bruce. Do the math. If we go, we'd be lucky if _one_ of us made it back to civilization in one piece!"

Dick sighed, "Look, setting my pride aside, I feel like shit. I'm tired, dizzy, my head is killing me, I can't walk more than 20 paces without becoming winded and have a completely useless arm. Then we have you, busted arm, too damn stubborn to eat and completely exhausted from doing all the work yourself since we've been stuck out here. And, if I went down, which is a damn good possibility, no way would you leave me behind and you'd never make it while trying to haul me along with you. That takes _both_ of us out of the equation."

Dick stopped then looked back to Bruce in frustration. "I'm **not** about to risk_ your_ life like that, Bruce!!" Dick sighed, "At least if we stayed, we'd have a shelter, a fire... a chance."

Bruce stopped wrapping Dick's arm and met him eye to eye, "Richard, listen to me. We're not even supposed to be at that opening for another hour and a half. They'll delay it for as long as possible; probably figure we had a travel delay."

"Talk about your understatement of the year." Dick grumbled.

"Once we're reported missing, they'll begin to work through our documented travel logs until they come to a dead end. Then a search party will be formed and sent out. For all that to happen, we're looking at, maybe, six hours from now. By then it will be dark. Say we're lucky and they find the busted guardrail in the dark. They'd have to repel to get down that slope. Then, because of last night's storm, there would be no tire tracks, no foot prints to guide then in the direction we went. They wouldn't go on tonight. They'd quit, then try again in the morning."

"Ok..." Dick said, growing impatient.

"Dick, these aren't ordinary wolves. I'm guessing they're wolf-dog hybrids." Bruce said as he began to wrap Dick's arm again.

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, wolves almost never attack during the day. They are fearful of humans and will avoid contact whenever possible. Dogs on the other hand are quite social and often prefer human company to that of other dogs. There's been research that proves many of the behavioral traits of these two animals are inherited and thus, intertwined during breeding with unpredictable results. Example: In some hybrids, the timidity of the wolf may be replaced by the aggressiveness of the dog, while the predatory trait from the wolf ancestry may remain relatively intact. Wolves are exceptional hunters where as, most dogs are not and would quickly starve if left to fend for themselves in the wild. That in itself poses the greatest threat." Bruce said as he tied off the wrap and sat down in front of Dick.

"If we stay here, they _will_ come back. They _will_ target you. You're in no condition to fight them off, like you did earlier, and I can't keep them off both of us at the same time. We have no choice. If we stay, we're dinner. If we go then there is a chance of a nice warm breakfast from Alfred in our near future, and they can go find something else to eat."

"Fine. But this will be hard, and you know it."

"Don't worry. We'll do what we can and we'll stop when you need to rest."

"No." Dick said sharply. "We can't afford to stop. Not in this environment."

Bruce placed his hand on Dick's shoulder, "I told you not to worry. We'll do this together, just like we used to, eh, partner?"

Dick gave Bruce a half smile, "Yeah. We were, pretty -_kaff_- invincible together."

"And we still are." Bruce said matter-of-factly.

Dick was silent for a bit then looked up again, "Bruce?"

"Hm?" Bruce asked as he made sure their fire was completely extinguished.

"I,…I'm sorry for _-kaff_- what I said last night and…."

"Don't." Bruce cut him off, "You were right. Well, in some ways; however, you were very wrong to insist that I don't trust you."

"I told you that? I .. I don..don..-_Giishoo, Giishoo..-kuff-kuff_- don't remember much of what I said. I just _-kaff_- know that I said things I shouldn't have.."

"Don't worry about that now"

"Ok. But we _-kuff-_ need to talk about it some time, Bruce. And I mean, sit down and really _talk_."

Bruce looked at him for a moment before he leaned over and took Dick by his good arm, "Come on, we're going to keep walking, if you're ready." Dick got to his feet slowly and placed his hand against the boulder.

"Alright?"Bruce asked and kept a hold on Dick's arm.

"Yeah, just got up too quick; ground started to move on me." Dick said as he rubbed his eyes.

"Then don't move quick." Bruce pointed out.

Dick took his hand down from his eyes and shot Bruce a look, "Oh, you're just friggin' hilarious."

Bruce didn't try to hide a small grin as he helped Dick into his coat and zipped it up. Bruce started to follow suit with his when Dick's stopped him, "Wait a minute. We need to splint your arm."

"It doesn't hurt that much. Forget it."

"Damn it, Bruce! I'm tired of this game." Dick growled. Faster than Bruce could react, Dick snatched Bruce's injured arm and gave it a firm squeeze.

".mngh.." Bruce winced.

"Look. _-kuff-kuff_- Here's the deal. We splint your arm now, or I get nice and cozy by the fire and go to sleep. Your call." Dick stated.

Bruce sighed. He could hear Alfred comment on how alike he and Dick were when it came to their stubborn ways."Fine, what do you plan to do about it?"

Without saying a word, Dick picked out two of the straightest sticks he could find from the wood pile then grabbed the sleeve liner that was used for the snow pack. "And I thought _I_ was the one with the concussion." Dick joked then untied the knot with his teeth and handed it to Bruce, "Here, help me tear this in two."

Between the two of them, they'd made a splint in no time. "Ok. Happy now?" Bruce asked while he zipped up his coat.

"Oooh. _-kaff-_ yeah. Simply tickled." Dick said as they got their gloves on.

Bruce helped Dick with his ski cap, then yanked it down over his eyes, "Lets go we won't have as much daylight, than we would back in Gotham." Bruce said, as they walked out of the shelter.

"Wow _-kuff-kuff_- Now I know why they call you 'The World_ Greatest_ Detective" Dick said with a smirk.

Bruce looked at Dick and rolled his eyes "It's going to be a loooong day."

_To be continued..._

* * *

_No Animals Were Harmed® In the Writing of This Chapter_

Copyright © 2006 American Humane Association

Reference Cited:

_Animal Welfare Information Center Newsletter_, Winter 1994/1995, Vol. 5 No. 4

http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/newsletters/v5n4/5n4wille.htm#toc5


	9. Chapter 9

_For disclaimer and summary, please see chapter 1_

Chapter 9

"How long .. do you figure we've ... been walking?" Dick asked.

Bruce pulled up his sleeve and looked at his watch. "It's almost 3:20, about five and a half hours."

"Oh good." Dick panted, "I was beginning to think ... that scientists _kaffkaff_ figured a way to .. add more hours to a day and ... someone forgot to tell me."

Bruce stopped to allow Dick to catch his breath, "How are you holding up?"

Dick bent over for a couple seconds and breathed as deep as he dared without triggering a coughing fit. "Uh... ok, I guess." He answered, barely able to suppress a shiver that crept up his spine.

Bruce narrowed his eyes as he caught the slightest shiver flow through Dick. "Well, at any rate, let's take a short rest. It appears that we're entering a large clearing or field. The wind is getting worse and it would be better to take a break here where we still have some sort of buffer."

Dick looked at Bruce for a second before nodding.

"Come on, chum." Bruce said as he took Dick by the arm and helped him to sit with his back to the wind, at the base of a large pine. Bruce reached into his coat pocket and pulled out another power bar, "Here, you need to eat something."

"Th..the ...whole.._kaff_..bar?" Dick asked "I..don't think...I stomach that _kaff _much."

"Well, eat what you can."

"You're not going to _kuffkuff_ eat?"

"Not right now. You eat and try to rest all you can before we start walking again" Bruce said

Dick sighed, "Seriously... are we going to have this discussion again? And don't give me that whole 'You need it more than I do' spiel. You're going to be needing it before to long." Dick said coughing under his breath.

Bruce turned concerned eyes toward him, "Meaning..., you're not doing as well as you've been leading me to believe, are you?"

Dick shrugged, "Complaining is a waste _kuffkuff_ of energy."

"Complaining??" Bruce turned to look at Dick, "It's important to... Never mind. Just eat."

Dick looked at the bar with uncertainty then began to eat, ignoring his protesting stomach.

Bruce frowned when Dick handed the bar back with less than a third of it consumed. "Dick, that's not good enough."

_kuffkuff_ "Well, Br _kaff_ uce.. It's just gonna have _kaff_ to be, _kuuuuffkuffkuff_" Dick cleared his throat, "Come on, let's go. It's going to be dark in a couple _koff_ hours, we need to find somewhere to _koff_ spend the night."

Bruce threw in the towel over the power bar and nodded in agreement.

Some hours later, and finding nothing suitable for a shelter, both of them were worn out. They needed to rest a little bit, even though Dick told him that he didn't want to, saying he didn't want to slow down their progress. Taking advantage of the fact that his partner was in any condition to argue, Bruce led them behind a group of large rocks and settled to the ground. Bruce wrapped his arm around his son and pulled him into his side, trying to share their body heat and block the brutal wind.

Then, he grabbed the bar that Dick started to eat earlier and handed it back to him, coaxing him to eat it. Little by little, and very slowly, he finished most of it, when he couldn't eat anymore, he gave it back to Bruce to finished it. Dick closed his eyes and dropped his head to his chest. Bruce reached over and moved it to his shoulder and rested his chin on his son's head. After looking at his watch and saw fifteen minutes had passed, Bruce apologized for not being able to let him rest longer as he brought Dick back up on his feet. He explained that it would be dark in two hours and they needed to begin to build a crude shelter if they couldn't find an acceptable one soon. Dick didn't say anything, just nodded his head which already hung low.

A short time later, Dick suddenly stopped and swayed forward. "Dick?" Bruce asked with concern as he noticed he had his eyes closed. "Dick, what are you doing? What's wr…" He stopped in mid sentence when Dick's legs gave out under him and he fell down, into the snow, bringing Bruce with him. Dick started to cough violently. He was groaning between violent coughs which forced tears to escape his eyes as he tried to breathe between the back to back coughs.

Bruce rolled Dick over onto his back and tipped his head back against his arm in an attempt to fully open up his airway. "Take a small breaths." Bruce coaxed, "Come on son, you can do it. Breathe. Slowly." But it was no use. No matter how hard he tried, he wasn't able to stop. Bruce could hear how congested his lungs were by a sound resembling a low whistle every time Dick was allowed the slightest breath. "Try clearing your throat like before, slow and gentle." Bruce instructed as Dick's face began to turn red. He tried to do as he was instructed but every time he did, it was interrupted by his heaving lungs.

"Concentrate Dick, try to calm do…" Bruce stopped in mid sentence when Dick coughed up phlegm tinged with blood.

'SHIT!! Bronchitis or Upper Respiratory infection, either way he needs an antibiotic.' Bruce said to himself.

Bruce rolled his partner to the side as he worked to clear his airway, again resulting in another show of blood. Finally this last bit allowed his lungs to settle slowly until he was left with short raspy breaths. "Uuuuhhhhgg" Dick groaned as his body went limp. Bruce pulled his son up higher against himself and tried to coax him into relaxing his respirations as much as he could. "Come on, kid, work with me here. We need to get moving again, I'll support you as much as you need, but we've got to get up."

"_I…I koffkoff can't_" Dick whispered, eyes still closed.

Bruce placed a hand on his face "Yes you can, you have to, I need you to try."

"_Ca...can't koffkoff uuuhhhggg, Bruce, can't…move_" He whispered.

"Richard, Get. Up."

"_….cccaaaann't…_" was the last thing that he said.

"..Dick?" Bruce called as he patted his son't face and gave him a gentle shake but got no response. "Don't do this to me, Dick. Dick?.." But it was no use, as he had lost consciousness.

Bruce got up and attempted to bring his son up with him but every time he tried, his arm gave out on him from keeping Dick on his feet for the majority of the day. The cold once again was draining him but he refused to accept that as he tried once more and successfully stood with Dick in his arms but couldn't throw him over his shoulder like before with his respiratory trouble. He only made it a dozen or so paces before falling into the deep snow with Dick on his arms. Bruce didn't move for a couple minutes other than shivering, breathing hard.

His vision began to fade as he heard the sound of someone walking through the snow. No, it sounded like there were at lest two or three. Bruce lifted his head as best as he could to see them and more important, to make sure that they saw him. Once they came into view, he wished that they hadn't.

"….Ddddiiiiiick…hhhmmmm" he tried to move, to get up, to try to save his son. But his body wasn't responding. He looked at his son, under him, unconscious. He looked up again as the pack of wolves finished ascending the mild slope in front of them just before darkness swallowed him whole.


	10. Chapter 10

_A big thank you goes out to ALSW and Creative Spark for their Beta work. Thanks gals._

_For summary and discolsure, please see chapter 1._

* * *

"...oiga...oiga, puedes oirme?" _("...Mister... Mister, can you hear me?")_

Bruce felt his shoulder shake and realized someone was trying to wake him up.

"¿Puedes oirme?" _("Can you hear me?")_

Bruce squeezed his eyes shut and attempted to clear his fuzzy head. He began to get to his knees when he felt his son lying on his back in the snow beneath him. 'Wolves!' Bruce remembered his final thought before he had blacked out. The stranger placed his hand on Bruce's back.

"Tranquilo...estas a salvo." _("Easy, you are safe."_ ). He waited for a response from Bruce."Oiga, me entiende? "_("Sir, do you understand me?")_

Bruce turned and looked at the man speaking to him, 'In Spanish?' Bruce thought how odd that was in Canada as he took in the sight of the stranger. He was clothed in the classic backwoods outerwear made from the hides of wild animals.

"Sí, hablo español." _("Yes, I speak Spanish.")_

"¿Tu hijo?...no parece estar bien." (_"Your son?... he does not look well.")_

Bruce immediately knelt down next to Dick and scooped his limp body into his good arm, pulling him close.

"¿Está enfermo?" _("He is sick?")_

"Sí. Tiene fiebre y ha estado tosiendo sangre. ¿Puede ayudarnos, por favor?" _("Yes. He has a fever and has been coughing up blood. Can you help us, please?")_

"Sí, por supuesto. ¿Puedes levantarte?" _("Yes, of course. Can you stand?")_

Bruce nodded and slipped his other arm under Dick's knees. Bruce stood up and growled through the pain in his broken arm until it gave out. The stranger quickly stepped in to keep Bruce from dropping Dick back into the snow.

"Estas herido. Déjame ayudale. No podemos ayudarle aqui afuera. Necesita un lugar caliente y seco. Iremos a mi cabaña y os quitais tu y tu hijo del frío. Entonces miraremos el chico." _("Sir, you are injured. Let me help you, please. We cannot help him out here. He needs to be warm and dry. We will go to my cabin and get you and your son out of the cold. We will look at the boy then.") _

Bruce nodded. The stranger smiled at him before taking Dick into his arms and placed him gently onto the sled, then came back and helped Bruce get to his feet.

Bruce stopped suddenly when he saw the wolves again...the wolves that brought power to the sled team. He observed how some had their bushy tails curled up toward their backs, engaged in a playful nipping match with another. Others watched Bruce's interaction with their master with intense blue eyes. A couple simply looked ahead, studying the landscape.

The stranger led Bruce by his arm to the sled then picked up Dick again, "Siéntate, por favor." (_"Sit, please."_)

Bruce sat down slowly, wincing at numerous aches and pains. The stranger then lowered Dick into Bruce's arms and covered them with a few of the furs that were strapped down to the sled. Bruce looked down at Dick's countenance; pale and unconscious. Hugging him close, he rested his chin on his son's feverish forehead.

The stranger placed a hand on Bruce's arm. "No te preocupes. Nos moveremos rapidamente." (_"Do not worry. We will move quickly.") _

Bruce gave the stranger a nod of thanks and tightened his embrace around his son. Dick's body was trembling and Bruce knew it was more from the fever than the cold.

With a stern command and a tug of the reigns the wolves sprang into action. Bruce was both surprised and thankful at the speed of which the team pulled three grown men through the deep snow.

Dick took a sharp breath and stirred in Bruce's arms, "_Br..-_kuff -kuff_-... Brruce?_.."

Bruce was flooded with relief, "Yeah, Dick, I'm right here."

_"I... I think_ -kaff-... _think I'm sick._ -kuuuuuff- kaff-kaff-

Bruce smiled. "I think it's safe to say that."

"_ .. hard.. to .. breathe_."

"I know it is. You shouldn't speak."

"_Where are .._.?" Dick stopped and arched his neck against Bruce's arm.

"What's the matter?"

"._... breathe... can't.._." Bruce let Dick's head drop back a little to allow his air way to open fully.

"I know it's uncomfortable and even scary, but you are getting enough air, Dick, just not as much as you'd like. You're alright. As long as you stay calm and try to concentrate on slow, steady breathing, you'll be ok."

""..._ so_...-kaff- ... _so co..cold_ .. _my, _-kuff-kuff-,_ head_.." Dick stopped to take a couple small breaths..."_is.._.-kaff-_ splitting_."

"I know. We'll make it better, ok? Now just stop talking and rest."

Bruce could tell by the way Dick's head rolled against his arm, from the movement of the sled, he'd fallen back asleep.

Before too long, a small cabin appeared in the distance. It was located on the outer edge of the forest and was met along the side by a fresh water stream. Without saying a word, the stranger quickly took Dick from Bruce's arms, and brought him into the cabin.

Bruce got up as quickly as he could and entered into the small one-room abode. The stranger had placed Dick on a bed against the far wall and had already removed coat.

Bruce quickly crossed the floor to help.

"Debemos quitarle la ropa, y permitir que la fiebre salga de su cuerpo." _("We must remove his clothes, and allow that the fever leave his body_.") The stranger explained.

Bruce nodded, "Su hombro, el derecho. Esta mal izquierdo." ("_His shoulder, the left one. Is injured badly_.")

"Entonces debemos tener mucho cuidado." ("_Then we shall take great caution_.")

The stranger sat Dick up as Bruce unwrapped the bandage which had kept Dick's arm bound to his chest. Bruce did his best to keep Dick's arm from moving while the other man removed the flannel shirt. The T-shirt would require too much movement so they opted to cut it down the middle and along the left sleeve to slip it off.

Dick moaned in his state of unconsciousness thanks to the various movements he was being subjected to and began to cough again. The stranger quickly reached behind him and produced two large, folded quilts then placed them against the wall behind Dick.

"Aqui...apollelo hacia atrás. Esto le mantendrá inclinado, ayudandole a respirar." _("Here...lay him back. These will keep him upright, helping him to breathe.") _

Bruce nodded as he made a sling out of the gauze and gingerly slipped Dick's arm into it before laying him back against the quilts. Bruce looked up and noticed the stranger walking through the door with a bucket and placed it at the side of the bed. It had been filled with the cold spring water. He then proceeded to soak a cloth and placed it across Dick's forehead.

He looked to Bruce sitting on the side of the bed, "Por favor, dejame un poco de sitio para ayudar a tu hijo."_ ("Please, leave me a little space to help your son._")

Bruce jumped up and stood out of the way. The stranger shed his own coat and quickly dipped the cloth into the water, wrung it out then proceeded to wipe down Dick's front.

Dick immediately started to moan and tremble. He took in a sharp breath from the shock of the cold water which set off another coughing attack. Bruce gently turned Dick to the side when he heard the congestion rising in his throat. The stranger took advantage of his exposed back, and began to apply the cold cloth there as well.

"Easy, Dick..." Bruce soothed when he began to choke and gag.

"Rápido, la toalla de esa silla." _("Quickly, the towel on that chair.")_ Bruce snatched the towel and placed it to Dick's mouth as he coughed then used the corner to wipe the blood from his chin as the stranger continually refreshed the cloth with the cold water in the bucket.

Dick tried to curl into himself to ward off the offending procedure. His sweat-soaked hair fell into his eyes from the force of his trembling. "_nnmmnnnooo... _-kuff kuff kuff-... _ssssttt..ooopp_... -kuff-kuff- _cooold._. -kuff-... _Brr_ -kuff- _ce_ _sssstooop_ -kuff-

"Dick, I'm sorry, son, but we have to. You've got one hell of a fever and this has to be done."

"_nngghh._... _noo... plee _-kaff- _eease._. -kaff-kaff- _ssssstoooop_..."

'The boy needs a doctor. The older one can't to travel for help. He surely does not know these mountains.' The stranger thought to himself. He decided what had to be done. He'd go leave and bring back help.

He wrung out the cloth once more and placed it behind Dick's neck. "Oiga, puede venir conmigo un momento." (_"Sir, if you would please come with me a moment."). _Bruce looked down at his son. "Un momento, por favor, solo hasta la puerta". (_"Please, for one moment, just to the door.") _

Bruce fixed the blankets behind Dick and adjusted his arm in the sling before reluctantly getting up and walked over to the door where he found the stranger hitching up his team.

"Tu hijo, requiere más ayuda de la que puedo darle. Necesita un doctor. Me temo que si no ve uno pronto, no le quedarán muchos días". _("Your son, he requires more help than I am able to provide for him. He needs a doctor. I fear if he does not see one soon, he will not have many days left.")_ "Tu quédate aqui con tu hijo. Conozco el camino y estaré fuera un día y una noche, y traeré ayuda conmigo". _("You are to stay here with your son. I know the way and will be gone one day and one night. I will bring help with me.") _

"¿Donde conseguiras ayuda?" _("Where will you get help?")_

"Hay una estación de montaña Canadiense justo pasando el pico." _("There is a Canadian Mounty station just over that peak.") _The stranger said as he pointed out the door into the distance.

Bruce did an about face at the sound of coughing from the other side of the cabin. After a few quick strides, he sat down on the side of the bed just as Dick had begun to sit up. Bruce placed his hand against Dick's back to support him and could feel the gravelly wheeze present with each inhale and exhale. Dick leaned forward and rested his forehead on his father's shoulder.

"Easy...slow...remember, don't try to take full breaths...just slow and small...easy…" Bruce coached then gently laid him back against the quilts. Dick coughed a couple more times with a closed mouth as he looked to Bruce with heavy lids.

"Mira esto." _"(Look at this.")_ The stranger said as he handed Bruce a tin and removed the lid. "Estas hierbas...ayudarán a tranquilizar la tos del chico. Hiérbelas con agua y luego cuélalas usando esto" (_"These herbs... will help to ease the boy's coughing. Boil them in a bit of water then strain them off using this.") _

The stranger showed Bruce a flat piece of tin, which was curved inward and had many small holes punched through it. "Cuando lo hayas colado, dáselo al chico." (_"When you strain it, give it to the boy.")_

He then handed Bruce another tin. Bruce opened it and sniffed the salve. "Coje esto y úntaselo en el pecho y cuello del chico. Contiene eucalipto y menta. Le ayudará a respirar" (_"Take this and rub it on the boy's chest and neck. It contains eucalyptus and menthol. It will help him to breathe.") _

The stranger looked at Bruce and took his shoulder in a strong grip, "Traeré ayuda. Tu hijo estará bien." (_"I will bring help. Your son will be well.") _He said and gave Bruce a wide, toothless grin.

Bruce looked up as the stranger walked out of the cabin. "Una cosa más antes de irte, no sé tu nombre" _("One thing before you leave, I do not know your name.")_

The stranger turned and smiled. "Me llamo Carlos. ¿Y, como te llamo?" _("My name is Carlos. And what may I call you?") _

"Bruce." He smiled and shook Carlos' hand.

"Encantado de conocerte. No en estas circunstancias, por supuesto."_ ("Glad to meet you. Not under this circumstances, of course.")_

"Lo sé. Gracias por todo. De verdad. No puedo agradecerte lo suficiente"_. ("I know. Thanks for everything. Really. I can't thank you enough") _Bruce said sincerely, still shaking Carlos' hand.

"Encantado de ayudar. Y no te preocupes Bruce. Vendré con ayuda a tiempo. Tu hijo estará bien. Pero tienes que cuidarle muy bien hasta que yo vuelva con ayuda". _("I'm glad to help. And don't worry Bruce. I'll come with help in time. Your son will be all right. But you have to take good care of him until I come back with help.")_

"You don't have to worry about that. I'll take good care of him," Bruce said to Carlos' retreating form. "Like I've never done before" he whispered to himself as he watched Carlos engage his team. "Godspeed, Carlos." He said as his newfound friend took off toward the setting sun.

Bruce went back to check on Dick. He sat down on the edge of the bed and refreshed the cloth in the bucket of water then placed it on his forehead. Dick scowled but remained in a feverish sleep.

"I'm going outside to get fresh water. I'll be back in a minute." Bruce told his son before putting on his coat, taking the bucket outside with him.

He dipped the bucket in the spring then allowed the light from the cabin to guide his way back through the moonless night. He stepped up on the porch and it was then that he noticed the mountain of split and seasoned firewood.

Bruce walked inside and set water to boil on the wood stove then went back outside to bring in a large load of firewood to get them through the night. When he came back in with his fourth load, he found Dick stumbling toward the door. Bruce quickly dropped the load and took his son by his good arm.

"Dick, you need to lay down." Dick mumbled something under his breath looking at the floor, but still trying to walk around Bruce toward the door.

Bruce leaned in to hear what his son was saying "Dick. Come on. Let's get you back to bed."

"-kuff -kuff-.. _No, I'm la_ -kuff- _late for work_." Dick stumbled forward into the table.

"You need to lay back down." Bruce said while trying to turn him around.

"_No, Bruce. I am_ -kuff- _late_." Dick leaned on the table with his elbow and head down.

"Dick..." Bruce began then thought for a moment. "Dick, you're off today. You don't have to work."

Dick turned his feverish face to Bruce... "-kuff-kuff- _Off _-kuff-?" He asked with a confused expression.

"Yes. Today's your day off." Bruce said as he started to guide his son back to the bed.

"-kuff- _good._... -kuff--kuff-..." Dick swayed for a second trying to take a breath, "-kuff- _because._. -kuff- _I feel_ _like shit _-kuff- ..." Dick said as he laid back down. Bruce reached over to the overturned wooden crate beside the bed and opened the salve. He scooped some onto his fingers and rubbed it into Dick's neck and chest.

"_Bru..ce._."

"Ssshh. You're going to be fine," Bruce said wringing out the cloth, trying to reassure both Dick and himself.

"_Br..u"_ Dick croaked.

"I've told you not to talk. Try to relax."

_"I...I'm._.-kuff kuff- _sssorry.._."

"You don't have anything to be sorry about. Calm down and relax. I'm going to get you some tea."

Bruce prepared the tea according to Carlos' instructions and soon sat back down, holding a steaming mug. "Dick, open your eyes."

Dick opened his eyes a little. "..-kuff- _tired_..."

"I know, drink the tea. It will help."

Bruce placed the cup to Dick's mouth, "Come on, Dick. You have to drink it."

Dick took a sip, and grimaced. "_Wha_ -kuff- _what the hell** is** that?_ -kuff-kuff-

Bruce looked at the cup and swirled its contents around some, "I'm not sure we really want to know. Drink."

Dick pouted at him from behind the mug and forced down another couple swallows before turning his head to the side and held his palm up.

"Ok, we'll save it for later if you can't drink it all now." Bruce said. He took the cloth from his forehead, refreshed it and started to wipe him down again.

"-kaff- _I'mm ..ccold... iss there a -_kuff kuff-_ b..blanket?_.."

"No blankets for you. You're cold because of the fever. Your body is actually quite hot, Dick."

Dick groaned between coughs and held onto his injured arm. "How's the pain?" Bruce asked.

"_Manage_-kaff kaff-_ manageable."_ Dick looking at Bruce for a moment, _"Bru...ce.._-kuff- _I'm...ss...sorry._."

"For what?"

"_Fo...for...everything _-kaff-_ I said .. bb...before. _-kuuuuuf- kaff-kaff- _I...don't know…wwhat happened...to...me._."

"Nothing happened to you, Dick. You were just saying what you think," Bruce said without looking at him.

_"No...I may not remem..ber everything_,-kuff kuff- _Bru_-kaff-_uce_..._but...that's ..not .all ..I think. _-kuff kuff kuff-"

"Dick, stop talking for now. Okay?"

"_...No..matter...w...what happened..betwe_ -kaff-kaff- _between us...I ..always knew..that..that...you'd ..be...t.tthere if I..needed you."_

Bruce looked at Dick's face. He seemed so young. He was sick and injured, and he was consoling him, instead the other way around.

"Dammit, Dick. I don't deserve you..." Bruce said, giving a squeeze to Dick's hand

Dick smiled at him, the same smile that won Bruce's heart all those years ago. "_so...y..you were...lucky.._.-kuff- ._.to..ff...find me.._." Dick said with a smirk.

"You don't know the half of it..."Bruce said, his mask haven fallen hours ago.

"_I...I...waas...l..lucky_ -kuff- _too_..." Dick said, trying to keep his eyes open.

Bruce grabbed the wet cloth and wiped his face again. "Your fever's too high to sleep now, you've to stay awake until we can bring it down some. Come on, stay with me."

"_ t..tt..trying_..."

"Don't you always want me to talk? Well, I don't have anything better to do," Bruce said smiling at Dick.

" .._.not...n ..nnow_..."Dick said closing his eyes.

"Yes. Right now." Bruce said placing his hand on his son's face. "Open your eyes, Dick."

Dick obeyed, very slowly. "What do you want to talk about?" Bruce asked.

"._..dooon't...care_..." Dick said closing his eyes.

Bruce tapped the side of Dick's face, "Ok, how about the weather, football, baseball, or cars?"

Dick smiled, hearing Bruce use his own words against him. He remembered how he tried to make Bruce talk about some those things earlier in their trip. _"...y you wer_ -kaff-_ weren't..very..e eeager_ -kuuuuff kuff kaff- _to talk then._..._you...brought me...t.tto learn._ -kuff- _not...t...talk._"

"Dick. I... I was trying to drive. I lost my patience."

"..._heh.heh... _-kuuuuuuff-kuff-kuff-.. _and...y you're always tell me.._-kaff- _**I** don't have patience."_ Dick said smiling.

"Hey, I learned a little patience since you came to live with us, you know. You'd go on and on and _oooon_ with questions or thoughts. I never thought one person would have so much to say. You couldn't have stop talking if you wanted to. Just when one topic came to an end, you'd have five more waiting in the wings and without skipping a beat, you'd slide right into a new one without your listener even knowing the topic had changed."

Bruce said, then turned serious. "You showed me more than just patience, son. I though that I'd be unable to love again, to care for someone. Then you came in and changed me completely. You brought light into my life. Something that I thought I'd lost forever."

"_Ssso...I did...something...right innn...my...liiife_.." Dick said through quick breaths, losing his battle against the dark.

"Dick. You have to stay awake. You can't sleep until we get your fever down? You'll be ok, then, maybe we'll try to start over? Make things right. Ok?" Bruce said, tapping Dick's face with stinging pats.

"Dick, don't do this to me, son. Please. Wake up," Bruce spoke, trying in vain to wake Dick, but he wouldn't respond.

Bruce snatched the bucket and ran out the door. He tossed the used water on his way to the stream and seconds later returned with fresh, cold water. Sitting down on the side of the bed again, Bruce ordered his mind to recall everything Carlos had done as he rung the cloth out and began to wipe down Dick's arms.

Dick began to tremble and moan "Dick, wake up for me."

Bruce dipped it again and wrung it out only part way then placed it behind Dick's neck. He then grabbed a towel which hung from a cabinet door and dipped that into the water. He rolled it up and placed it under Dick's arm then rummaged through Carlo's dresser and pulled out a shirt and tore it in two.

"Sorry, Carlos." Bruce said under his breath as he dipped half the shirt, rolled that up and put it under Dick's other arm.

Dick moaned again.

"Dick... look at me," Bruce said as he dipped the other half of the shirt into the cold water and rung it out half way before placing it over his stomach.

"_mmmnnggg..._." Dick moaned. -kuff- _ssstooop... mmmnnnooo_..."

Bruce ignored Dick's pleas and continued to repeat the process on each area. By the time he'd replaced one cloth, the next in line was already warm.

He felt like he couldn't go fast enough. But the more this process went on, the more Dick complained and trembled. Bruce took comfort in that.

As he replaced the cloth behind Dick's neck, he opened his eyes a crack and looked at Bruce. _"Bruce... plee-_kuff_-ease_..._ sssssstoop...cooooold... soooo... coo-_kuffkuff- _cooold."_

"I know you're cold, Dick and I'm sorry that you're so uncomfortable... but your fever is so high that if I don't do this you could die. I can't allow that to happen." He took Dick's face in both of his hands and looked him straight in the eyes. "I WON'T allow that happen."

Dick tried to clear his throat and grimaced.

"Here," Bruce brought the cup of tea over to him again. "It's cold by now but you don't exactly need anything hot in you as it is." Bruce placed his hand behind Dick's neck and gently pulled him forward as he put the cup up to his lips.

Dick closed his eyes and furrowed his brow when he took his first sip. "_ma_-kuff- _man_. -kuff, kuff- _that's hor_-kuff-_rible_..."

Bruce smiled. "Too bad. Drink, kid."

Dick took another couple sips before he turned his head to the side.

"One more?" Bruce urged.

Dick cleared his throat and rasped with what little voice head left, "_You go ahead."_

"Uh.. that's ok, but thanks all the same" Bruce grinned as he put the tea back down on the crate beside the bed. He removed the towel from behind Dick's neck and was relieved to feel a significant difference.

Dick looked at Bruce and all of a sudden noticed how bad he looked. ".._.yy._." Dick stopped to clear his throat. "..._yyou look...awful.._."

"Hrn...Thanks." Bruce said and smoothed Dick's sweat-soaked hair from his forehead.

".._ser_..-kuff-kuff-..._seriously, you should... lay...down also_."

Bruce placed a hand to Dick's forehead, "No, I'm fine, but I think the last couple hours of playing freeze tag with you brought your fever down enough. You should get some rest."

Dick sat up and leaned to the side coughing as he moved over on the bed to give Bruce room. "Lay down."

Bruce considered refusing, then figured that with Dick asleep, he'd have nothing to keep his mind off his exhausted and sleep deprived body and would soon fall asleep either way. Bruce helped Dick to scoot over a little more then lay down beside his son.

Bruce lay there and listened to Dick's labored breathing and congested lungs. He was getting worse and there was nothing more he could do about it. He watched his son struggle for each breath.

Dick opened his eyes a little and looked at him, then smiled. Bruce smiled and shook his head some, he couldn't believe it. No matter now bad the things went for Dick, he always had a smile for him. "Rest."

"..._you...too_..." Dick rasped before he closed his eyes leaned his head against his father's shoulder.

Bruce looked at his son for a little while before resting his cheek on top of Dick's head, smelling the salve. Dick needed to be in a hospital. He only hoped that Carlos could bring help soon. He couldn't lose his son.

"Please, God..." Bruce pleaded and closed his eyes.


	11. Chapter 11

_For Summary and Disclosure, please see Chapter 1._

_Thank you ALSW for the beta work._

* * *

_Continued from Chapter 10..._

_Dick looked at Bruce and all of a sudden noticed how bad he looked. "...yy.." Dick stopped to clear his throat. "...yyou look...awful..."_

_"Hrn...Thanks." Bruce said and smoothed Dick's sweat-soaked hair from his forehead. _

_"..ser..kuffkuff...seriously, you should... lay...down also."_

_Bruce placed a hand to Dick's forehead, "No, I'm fine, but I think the last couple hours of playing freeze tag with you brought your fever down enough. You should get some rest."_

_Dick sat up and leaned to the side coughing as he moved over on the bed to give Bruce room. "Lay down." _

_Bruce considered refusing, then figured that with Dick asleep, he'd have nothing to keep his mind off his exhausted and sleep deprived body and would soon fall asleep either way. Bruce helped Dick to scoot over a little more then lay down beside his son._

_Bruce lay there and listened to Dick's labored breathing and congested lungs. He was getting worse and there was nothing more he could do about it. He watched his son struggle for each breath. _

_Dick opened his eyes a little and looked at him, then smiled. Bruce smiled and shook his head some, he couldn't believe it. No matter now bad the things went for Dick, he always had a smile for him. "Rest."_

_"...you...too..." Dick rasped before he closed his eyes leaned his head against his father's shoulder._

_Bruce looked at his son for a little while before resting his cheek on top of Dick's head, smelling the salve. Dick needed to be in a hospital. He only hoped that Carlos could bring help soon. He couldn't lose his son. _

_"Please, God..." Bruce pleaded and closed his eyes._

* * *

_Chapter 11_

Bruce fought against his body's decision to stay asleep. He couldn't tell what was different but he knew he could no longer smell the salve he had rubbed onto Dick's chest awhile ago. It was more like...'_what is that_,' Bruce thought as he overrode his body's demand for sleep and moved his hand to the left, to where his son lie next to him. Immediately, Bruce snapped his eyes open and bolted upright when he realized Dick was not there.

"_Whoa_ there, easy."

Bruce blinked against the bright sunshine streaming through the window to his right. "Where's Dick?" Bruce asked as he threw the blankets back and began to jump out of the bed.

Bruce suddenly realized he was weaker than he first thought when someone was able to quickly out-muscle him and force him back down into the bed. He blinked a few times struggling to bring the room into focus. "_Clark_?" Bruce asked in a dumbfounded tone.

"Yes, Bruce. Now lay down. You needed to rest," Clark said as he stood over Bruce and kept his hand on one shoulder to make sure he didn't attempt to get up again. Bruce looked around and was finally able to place the mystery scent. '_Antiseptic,_' Bruce thought as he looked around his hospital room.

"Dick. Where _is_ he?"

Clark sighed and set down the cup of water Bruce had refused, "He's not here, Bruce."

Bruce reached out and grabbed Clark by his tie and yanked him down inches from his face, "What do you mean He's. Not. Here. Clark?" Bruce growled.

Clark blinked a couple times before flashing a wide smile, "Don't worry. He's ok. Just not in your room. He's upstairs in the ICU."

Bruce paled, "ICU?" He asked quietly as he released Clark's tie.

"Why aren't you with him? You should have stayed with Dick, not with me. He'll be disoriented, confused, he needs someone he knows to be with him!" He said while trying to get out of bed.

"Bruce, stop, Dick's going to be fine," Clark tried to assure, wiggling his tie back and forth a couple times in an attempt to straighten it back out.

"I've been with him as much as I was allowed. Actually, I'm surprised that I was allowed to see him at all. ICU policy is immediate family and, even then, it's only for ten minutes per hour. However, when Superman brought you both here, he was kind enough to explain the situation and made sure that 'Uncle' Clark would be allowed to sit with Dick until his father was well enough to be able to be with him," Clark finished with a smug smile.

"How is he?"

"Let me tell you and then you can..."

"**Ten minutes per hour?** I don't care where they have him and what _policies_ they have..."

"**BRUCE**!" Clark shouted in frustration.

Bruce stopped what he was doing and looked at him in surprise. "And you always complained about how much Dick talked. Geesh," Clark sighed. "Let me explain everything, then you can fire away any other questions you have," Clark said in his usual, passive tone.

"Okay. Start to explain. Everything," Bruce said, a bit calmer, but still frantic about his son.

"...and Clark," Bruce said with a tone of warning, "Let this be the last time you entertain the notion of raising your voice with me."

"See, now, this is the Bruce I know," he said smiling.

His patience running thin, Bruce's scowl changed into a full-fledged glare.

"This morning," Clark began, "at the Daily Planet, tips started coming in and within minutes, our Editor was screaming across the floor that an official report has been made, that Bruce Wayne and his adoptive son, Richard Grayson, had failed to appear at the highly publicized opening ceremony for the Edmonton division of Wayne Enterprises in Canada. They played it off as the usual, well known, irresponsible playboy image. I was just about to place a call to Alfred when Jimmy shouted that I had a phone call. Not surprisingly, it was Alfred. That man can be 199 years old and somehow he will _still_ be one step ahead of everyone else," Clark smiled.

"It took a mere four seconds to come to a mutual agreement. No matter what the press was reporting, you would have never missed the opening. Also, you would have let Alfred know if you were detained and couldn't be reached via cell phone."

"Get on with it, Clark," Bruce said as he waved his hand in a circle, urging Clark to finish.

"Well, Alfred placed a couple calls and learned that the pilot had to make an unscheduled landing due to hazardous flying conditions, then located the car rental agency, then hit a dead end. Knowing something was very wrong, he asked for my help. I found you both in the cabin, you were unconscious, and, Dick..." Clark looked out the window for a moment. "In all honesty, Bruce," Clark looked back to his friend, "I think that was one of the few times I've been afraid."

Bruce took a deep breath and nodded his head.

"Well, anyway, I wrapped my cape around Dick to shield him as much as possible from the bitter cold air, then took you both and brought you to the best hospital in Canada," Clark finished, pleased he was finally able to do something for Batman, even if, at the time, he had been in no condition to argue.

"You _flew_ me here?" Bruce challenged.

"Don't worry, Bruce," Clark sighed and rolled his eyes, "Your secret's safe with me, I won't tell anyone."

"But, seriously, try not to worry. Dick's ok. Very ill, but he'll ... be ...ok, what do you think you're doing?" Clark asked as Bruce removed the iv from his arm. "Going upstairs."

"Right. Uh, you should clear that with your doctor first."

"Where are my clothes?"

"Alfred sent you and Dick a change of clothes and asked me to relay a message to you. He'll stay with Tim at Brentwood today and tomorrow and that they will be here Friday afternoon if Dick is not yet discharged, unless he hears from you otherwise."

Bruce shook his head while digging through the bag Clark handed him. "He should just stay there. I'll call him in a little bit."

A few minutes later Bruce walked out of the bathroom, showered and fully dressed, and was met by the sight of an annoyed-foot-tapping nurse. "And just _what_ do you think you are doing, Mr. Wayne?"

"Checking out," Bruce said as he sat down to put on his shoes.

"That's for your doctor to decide, Mr. Wayne. Now I suggest you get changed back out of your clothes and get yourself back into bed."

Bruce tugged the last knot taut and slowly stood up to tower over the nurse. Clark shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck.

"And _I_ suggest," Bruce looked down to the Nurse's name badge. "Nancy. That you prepare and bring me my discharge papers within the next five minutes otherwise I'm leaving this floor and you can bring them to my son's room in the ICU," Bruce said in a cool tone, not bothering to waste time on the all-too-expected playboy persona.

The nurse squared her shoulders and placed her hands on her hips, "You'll have to wait for the doctor to sign your papers and he's not on the floor at the moment."

"Well then, you have four minutes and forty seven seconds to find him. I suggest you start right now."

"Uh, I think I overheard someone say he was one floor down, west corridor." Clark offered quickly, avoiding Bruce's knowing smirk.

The nurse looked back at Bruce then huffed as she left the room.

"Overheard, did you?" Bruce raised an eyebrow.

Clark simply shrugged.

* * *

Three minutes and twenty nine seconds later, Bruce slipped into Dick's room, he walked up to the side of the bed and took in his son's status.

His immediate focus was drawn to the bandages wrapped around his son's shoulder, stained with post-op seepage while his arm was nestled into a sling. His oxygen mask fogged ever so slightly with each short breath his lungs would allow. Bruce listened intently to Dick breathing for a moment and was relieved to hear his respirations had improved from a deep gravelly sound to a moderate wheeze.

Seeing his son's face still flushed with fever, Bruce reached over and smoothed back his sweat-damp hair, placing the back of his hand to Dick's forehead. 'Still hot, but definitely better,' Bruce thought.

Dick stirred at his father's touch and looked up to him with heavy lids.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Bruce said softly.

"..'s okay," Dick replied, his voice barely above a whisper.

Bruce pulled a nearby chair over and sat down.

"...you...okay?" Dick asked and motioned toward the cast on Bruce's arm.

"I'm fine. It doesn't even hurt. Go back to sleep," Bruce coaxed his son who fought to keep his eyes open.

Avoiding the IV on the back of his hand, Bruce placed his hand over Dick's fingers and gave a gentle squeeze, "I'll stay. Sleep."

Dick lasted through a couple long blinks before closing his tired eyes.

Bruce sighed, lightly rubbing his thumb over the knuckles on Dick's hand as he watched him sleep.

* * *

"I'm Bruce Wayne, Dick's father," Bruce said without second thought as he, Clark and the doctor stood in the hall outside Dick's room.

Clark smiled as he thought to himself, 'He's never announced that in public before. It's about damn time.'

"It's a pleasure, Mr. Wayne, I'm Dr. Meyers. Your son came to us this last night in critical condition."

"And now? Do you still consider him to be critical?" Bruce asked stealing a glance at his son through the window to his son's room.

"Well, he's responding to the medication he's been on for the past 24 hours, so I've downgraded his status to 'guarded," the doctor answered as he opened Dick's file.

"When we first examined Dick, in all honesty, Mr. Wayne, he was in grave condition. With his temperature at slightly more than 106 degrees, his respirations were reduced to 39 and he was suffering from severe dehydration. We immediately took care of these most pressing dangers before assessing other injuries. He was immediately put on a ventilator and an intense antibiotic. After 18 hours, he came around a couple times and was beginning to become restless due to the ventricular tube. My options were to remove it or to sedate him. I examined his respirations, without assistance, I feel it would be safe to switch him to face mask with an output of 85 pure oxygen."

"You said that he woke up?" Bruce asked.

"Yes, about four hours ago he started to become more aware and responsive. We took these opportunities to get in breathing treatments whenever we could. They have made a great improvement and have even allowed his body to cough up some of the phlegm taking up space in his lungs. As I said, he's in guarded condition, so I'm keeping him here in the ICU to monitor his breathing for the next 24 hours as his body continues to heal. With his current weakened state, he may require immediate assistance. I don't want to take a chance of him choking."

Bruce rubbed his face with his hand, then ran it through his hair.

"Ahem... Mr. Wayne," Dr. Meyers looked over the rim of his glasses, "Since you and your son were brought in together, I was also able to assist in your care as well as your son. From what I recall, _you're_ supposed to still be in bed until at _least_ tonight. Your body is physically exhausted and very dehydrated. I find it difficult to believe your doctor agreed to such a quick discharge?"

Bruce forgot Clark was still standing there before he spoke up, "You'll have to excuse Bruce, Dr. Meyers. He has a way of ... well, getting his own way."

Bruce rolled his eyes and ignored his friend, "I'll make you a deal, Doc, I'll agree to another IV, If _you_ agree to grant me unlimited visiting hours with my son."

Dr. Meyers smirked and shook his head, looking at Clark, "Don't have much of a choice, do I?'

"At least his _giving_ you one," Clark joked back.

Dr. Meyers sighed, "I'll agree to that, Mr. Wayne, contingent upon the fact that any other family that arrives will only have 10 minutes per hour until my say so. Agreed?" the doctor asked and extended hand.

"Agreed," Bruce said and shook on it. "How are his shoulder and concussion?"

"His concussion is a good one. Although it has taken care of itself, like most do, he's still going to suffer from headaches, nausea and dizziness for a few days yet. We've made sure to keep the lights in his room dim, so that when he does come to, they will be as non-offensive as possible."

"And his shoulder?"

"Phew..." The doctor exhaled, "His shoulder was a mess. What on earth did you two encounter?"

"Long story, Doctor. It's a very long story," Bruce answered wearily.

"Well, after we had his oxygen saturation back to acceptable levels, we went ahead and operated on the shoulder. We have the initial dislocation, then it looked as if it was relocated a couple times? Is that right?"

Bruce nodded, "With everything that happened, it had come out of alignment a couple times."

"I can't begin to imagine how painful that would have been. You've got one tough kid there. You know that, don't you?"

Bruce looked at his son through the window again and nodded, "Yeah. I know."

Dr. Meyers flipped past a couple pages in Dick's chart then continued, "Surgery repaired the torn and injured ligaments, tendons and muscles. He had a good deal of trauma to the rotator cuff, and that is why he's in the sling that you see. Just like a normal sling, except this one also has a piece that wraps around his upper arm and torso, keeping the arm from moving. It will immobilize his shoulder. I'm ordering him to wear that 24/7 for the next two weeks then we'll go from there."

"How's his side? It was badly bruised and very tender when I last checked it." Bruce asked.

"His side is okay. Sore, but okay. A few cracked ribs which could have been brought on by violent coughing. The good news is that we've been able to get a handle on the coughing and it is getting much better. He is no longer expelling bright red blood any longer. So we're looking good there.

Bruce nodded relieved. "He has pneumonia?"

"Yes. Most likely, it started out as an upper respiratory infection or bronchitis but has progressed into pneumonia. His fever is still high, but down to an acceptable reading of 103.2. I expect that by this evening, we'll have it down at _least_ another degree. Then we'll begin to see significant improvement. He'll be very weak for the few weeks, but in the end, with a lot of physical therapy for his shoulder, Dick should make a complete recovery. Rest and fluids are the key things right now."

Bruce allowed himself to take a deep breath and release it slowly.

"Do you have any questions?" Dr. Meyers asked, looking at his pager as he silenced its alert.

"No, thank you. Thank you for taking care of Dick," Bruce said and shook the doctor's hand in a firm grip.

"It's what I do, Mr. Wayne, and I wouldn't change my occupation for the world. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to answer this. I'll come by in about an hour and see how you two are doing," Dr. Meyers nodded to Clark then walked down the hall.

Clark observed Bruce as he looked into his son's room and watched him sleep, "It wasn't your fault, Bruce. It was an accident."

"He didn't want to go."

Clark was almost startled at the sudden statement.

"Bruce..."

"No, Clark. He didn't want to go," Bruce said again, then walked over and leaned up against the doorframe, "He went because I asked. After we landed in Newark, Dick insisted it was too dangerous to go the rest of the way by car. But instead of thinking of our safety...I thought of business. _**My** _business. I've done this to him, Clark."

"You couldn't have known any of this was going to happen. And the pneumonia, are you taking credit for that as well?" Clark asked sarcastically.

"He was coming down with something before we went, I noticed him sneeze and cough a few times, but, as always, I didn't pay him the attention that I should have. I wanted him to come and learn. He didn't want to, but he came for me, to make me happy."

"He just wants you to be proud of him, Bruce."

"I know, and I am. I just...," Bruce sighed and looked down the hallway, "I don't know how to tell him. Every time I try, I say something wrong or don't say anything at all."

"Then stop trying."

Bruce gave Clark a long blink, "_Excuse me?"_

Clark grinned, "What I meant was, don't think about it, don't try so hard. All you have to do is listen to what your heart is saying and simply echo it."

"It's not that easy for me, Clark. Dick's always wanted to spent time together or talk, and more often than not, I've shut him out. Just like in the Jeep the other day, he was bored and wanted to talk, didn't matter the topic, but I ignored him, told him I brought him with me to learn. If you could have seen the hurt on his face," Bruce confessed.

"Give yourself a second chance, Bruce. Spend time with him, like father and son." Bruce looked to Clark. "That's what you are. Dick's not just your heir, Bruce, he's your son. Spend time with him, pay attention to him. He's never wanted anything more from you."

"I know, I'll try," Bruce said quietly, looking back at Dick.

"Everything's going to be okay, you'll see. Just try it," Clark reassured.

Bruce gave Clark an endangered smile, "Dick's right."

Clark took the bait, "Right about what?"

Bruce shrugged, "He's always said that you're easy to talk with, that you're a good listener. It's not hard to see why you've always been his favorite hero."

Clark demonstrated a perfect 'dear caught in headlights' pose, "Wow, uh... thank you, a compliment. Figures that I don't have my recorder with me. Lois will never believe Bruce Wayne willingly handed out a compliment." Clark joked.

Bruce rolled his eyes, "I think that you spend too much time with Dick. You two share the same bad jokes."

"Hey now, they're not _all_ bad! And, for the record, Bruce, I'm _not_ his favorite. You should hear him talk about you," Clark said then became very serious, continuing in a volume only loud enough for the two of them.

"Have you ever noticed the way other heroes act when he's around? They act differently, like they do when you're present. For different reasons though. Don't get the wrong idea, Bruce, Dick is a strong leader and I can't think of a person or instance that someone has shown displeasure from being under his command. He is well liked by all. What I'm getting at is, the difference comes in the way, in which they refer to you."

Bruce frowned with interest as Clark continued, "It is well known among the heroes' community that if you have an opinion about Batman, either state your complaint with respect or keep it to yourself. Unless," Clark paused and held up his index finger, "Number one: Nightwing is not around to hear it, and Number two: Nightwing isn't _going_ to hear it from someone else. Only a fool would be unable to see what you mean to that boy."

Clark watched as Bruce's chest seemed to swell with pride."Thank you, Clark," Bruce said, walking inside the room to stand at his son's bedside.

"Hey, I'm always here to talk whenever you need to. You know that."

"I know, but I meant, thank you for everything, finding us, saving Dick," Bruce said quietly.

"You're welcome, Bruce," Clark said, watching as Bruce intently observed a sleeping Dick. Deciding to give father and son some time alone, Clark placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, "I've got to get back to Metropolis. Perry's gonna have my neck if I'm gone much longer. Tell Dick that I've been here and I'll give him a ride as soon as he's well enough, so he's got to make a fast recovery," Clark said, heading towards the door.

"Oh, he will, after I tell him that. Goodbye, Clark," Bruce said, and nodded in a silent gesture of respect as his friend walked past the window in the hallway. He turned back to his son and once again took Dick's hand in his own, knowing that when those blue eyes opened again to the world, the wounds between them would now be healed and he'd able to form the words his heart has been asking him to say for so very long now.

* * *

_Almost done! One more chapter to go. Let us know what you like, didn't like and so forth._


	12. Chapter 12

Hi everybody!!

Here we are again with this new chapter.

Now, before you start to read it, we want to say some things:

We hope you'll like it like the rest of the fic. We want to thank everybody that read it and all the reviewers for their support.

This Fic is very important to us, because it was the first multi-part that we did together, and it's done after 5 months. It's been done for a long time now, but we've been smoothing it out for a long time, (We wanted it to be as perfect as possible) and we've been writing more fics too (still in process), so, we didn't have much time for this. It's bitter sweet to see it come to an end. We had a great time (and a lot of sleepless nights too) writing this.

So, this being our first multi-part, it's a huge milestone for us. Like my partner Christine said to me just now: 'I feel like my baby just grew up and moved out of the house to go to college'. LOL.

**OneMind.**

And, personally, now that I have the chance, I want to say that I'm very proud and so glad to have the partner that I have. Thanks a lot, sister!!! I love you!!!

Again, thank you all for being there with us from the start.

**Kanny. OneMind.**

For disclaimer and summary see chapter one.

**CHAPTER 12**

**By OneMind.**

Now everything seemed so clear, it was as if a switch had been turned on in his mind, just by looking at his son in the hospital bed. So pale and sick-- young and frail.

It all came back to him in a rush, every time his son tried to start a conversation with him, no matter what the topic; tried to get then to spend some time together... and also, every time he rejected his son-- pushed him away.

'_Why?' _Bruce asked himself._ 'Because of pride-- my cold reputation? No, it was more than that.'_

Bruce thought for a moment, closing his eyes as he exhaled a shuddering sigh as he forced himself to realize what he'd known all along,_ 'I was afraid to love him, afraid that if I did, if I allowed myself... something would happened to Dick. It would hurt like nothing else had, as nothing else could. Losing my parent, tore me apart, but to lose a son...'_

Rising from his son's bedside, Bruce walked the few steps over to ICU window in Dick's room, looking out to observe the hospital staff as they rushed about, to where-- ever they might be going, _'So, what did I do... I pushed him away, far away from my life, just because of that 'what if', but... in the process of looking out for myself, I ended up hurting my son. Selfish, Wayne, simply and utterly selfish.'_

Turning around, Bruce leaned up against the window, expressing another deep sigh, he watched his son sleep, _'No matter how much I tried-- it was simply no use. Since the first time Dick looked at me, after that fatal night, with those blue eyes of his brimmed with tears of pain and grief…since then, I knew he was special.'_

'_I didn't want to be his father, but, Dick-- his heart, it's just so big-- pure. He opened that heart to me, brought his light into my life; laughter and life. Achieving what no other could since my... since that-- night. Before I knew it, I began to forget just how dark my life had been without Dick and I-- began to think of Dick as a... son._

Bruce walked back over to Dick's bed, checking the iv lines that fed fluids and medicine to his son's body, he placed his head atop the feverish brow, _'When did it happen, Dick?'_ Bruce began to think to himself again, smoothing back sweat-damp hair, _'When did it all go sour? Hmph...'_ Bruce admonished himself. _'Stop fooling yourself, nothing's going to change between the two of us if I refuse to see things for what they really were-- and are.'_

Bruce rubbed his face vigorously then ran a hand through his raven hair before, once again taking a seat next to his son's bed. Gently taking Dick's hand in his own, Bruce sat still for a moment before unconsciously, he began to stroke his thumb over the knuckles on his son's fingers, _'It was when Dick was older, the fear which had never completely dissipated, began to surface again-- arguments began. Robin was growing into a teen-- long since thinking for himself, he was beginning to see how wrong both Batman and Bruce were about many things.' _

'_Voicing his opinions upon these discoveries of his, led to heated discussions-- arguments. And... ultimately, due to, too close of a call, my own gutless fear overrode any consideration for Dick as I protected my own heart. I fired him after Joker shot him. I just-- I never realized Robin and Dick were one in the same. But through all this, Dick never truly left me. He was always there for me whenever I needed him; forever loyal.'_

Bruce shook his head sadly, looking upon his son's continence, mentally kicking himself, _'Ill, son, you're so damn ill and injured. Why? Why, when you didn't agree with me, with my methods and actions, when I failed to give you the respect you deserved for your opinions, time and time again, why did you stay loyal? Who else would return? Who else would-- would forgive me for all the wrongs that had been done?'_

'_Because... when it's all said and done, no matter what the circumstances, he's my son. If Batman and Robin, or now, Nightwing, didn't agree or argued-- it didn't matter, because Dick considered himself my son. That's why he's always been so loyal... Nightwing isn't simply being loyal to Batman, he being his son-- a good son.'_

'_I owe it to him to get my act together and be the father he sees in me, the father that my son deserves... God, please don't let it be too late...' _

"Dick, I-I don't know if you can hear me, son, but I'm... sorry," Bruce said, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Bruce continued to study his son's face: pale, yet flushed with fever, his limited-- laboring breaths, more times than not, were interrupted by a hoarse, wheezing cough. Bruce sat, frozen in time aware of these factors-- seemingly mesmerized as he watched Dick's oxygen mask cloud with a slight fog with each exhale, only to disappear upon every inhale, "Son, you have to get well, can you open your eyes and look at me."

Scooting to the edge of his chair, Bruce placed his hand upon Dick's head again, "Dick, open your eyes. You have to wake up and get well. We have a lot of things to catch up on," Bruce pleaded.

Smoothing his hair back, Bruce's breath caught in his throat upon noticing his son's eyes moving under their lids, "Dick?" Bruce asked, giving his hand a gentle squeeze, then smiled with relief when Dick's hand twitched a couple times before responding with a weak squeeze of his own.

Bruce watched Dick's eyes move again and start to open up slowly. "Come on, Dick, I'm here, open your eyes."

Bruce furrowed his brow as Dick continually tried to open his eyes, only to immediately squeeze them shut again, "Dick, what's wrong, where do you hurt," Beginning to grow uneasy upon receiving no response, Bruce stood up and placed a hand on Dick's good shoulder, "Hold tight, I'm going to get a nurse."

"_...no...coffcoff_," Dick responded in a whisper, weakly holding onto Bruce's hand when he attempted to leave his side, "_...bright... it's too... bright-- hurts_."

"Okay, just a second," Bruce answered, pressing a button on the control panel on Dick's bed rail, turning off the light over his bed then quickly flipped off the switch at the door, turning off the rest of the lights in the room-- the only source now came by way of the hallway light, filtering in through the window's open blinds.

"Better now?" Bruce asked, slowly reclaiming his seat next to the bed as he took his son's hand in his own again.

"..._yeah coffcoff_," Dick whispered, struggling against intense fatigue to keep his eyes open.

"How're you feeling?"

"_Everything hurts, but... better-- now,_" Dick swallowed hard a couple times before attempting to clear his throat, "_What hap…coff coff...happened_?"

"Here, Dick," Bruce offered as he pulled down his son's mask, "Drink some water."

"_...t'nks... it's-- broken?"_ Dick coughed under his breath trying to focus his vision, signaling to the cast on Bruce's arm

"Yes, but otherwise, I'm fine. You just concentrate in getting well."

"_I'm so c-cold coff...can I have a blanket, plecoffease?" _

"Sorry, kid, no can do, you've got a high fever-- pneumonia. That's why it's still difficult to breathe and why you have the oxygen mask on," Bruce answered, pulling the bed sheet up to his chin.

"..._okay,_" Dick whispered, through a couple slow blinks, _"What hap...happened?"_

"Oh, Supermen happened," Bruce said, giving him a smile.

"..._Super...men?"_ Dick asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yep, Alfred and Clark," Bruce told him smiling, "When Clark noticed that we didn't make it to the opening on the news, Alfred must have seen it at the same time because, Clark said that Alfred called him within seconds of it being aired, asked him to find us, to make sure everything was okay. Being Superman, he used his vision and found us in the cabin and brought us here."

"..._cabin_?" Dick asked in confusion, "..._what...coff cab-in_?"

"You were so sick and out of it, you probably won't remember, but we were incredibly lucky, in that a local backwoodsman, who will be handsomely rewarded, found us and brought us to his cabin by way of his sled team; probably saved my life."

Bruce paused, looking away from his son's tired eyes to focus on the hand he'd been holding, before continuing in a quiet voice, "He definitely saved yours."

Swiping his thumb over Dick's fingers once, he looked back to face him again, "He knew what to do, your fever, Dick,-- you were so hot. Carlos, he knew..."

"..._Carlos?"_

Bruce nodded, "That was his name. I can honestly say, except for maybe one or two, he was the most sincere, and genuinely kind person I have ever met. Here we were, two complete strangers-- he took us in, brought us back to his cabin and immediately began to work over you with fervent intensity, trying to bring your fever down, with enough care and determination... as if you were his own son."

Feeling the sting of tears begin to invade his strong front, Bruce stood up and cleared his throat, running a hand through his hair.

Frowning at the inner turmoil his mentor was plagued with, Dick winced as he attempted to force his voice through a swollen and irritated throat, _"_..._'m o-kay, Bruce."_

Bruce continued to face the window and closed his eyes at the weak, raspy words, "I know, because of Carlos, he knew what you..."

"_No, Bruce, you..."_

Bruce turned quickly, hearing Dick take a sharp gasp of air, to see him leaning forward with his good hand clutching his injured shoulder, "Hey, hey... what are you doing?" Bruce snapped, quickly moving back to his son's bed to gently lower him back down against the pillows before moving the oxygen mask from where it dangled, around Dick's neck, back up to his face, "Easy, Dick... breathe easy..."

"_...nnngh,"_ Dick grunted once he had caught his breath, _"...son of a bitch, that smarts."_

Bruce cocked an eyebrow, "And this surprises you? Your shoulder has suffered through a lot of trauma, and you just had surgery a little more than 24 hours ago. They don't have your arm immobilized in a super-sling, just for the hell of it," Bruce admonished, finishing with a sigh, "What did you need?"

"_Nothcoff... nothing, just wanted to... sit up coff more,"_ Dick answered, his eyes closed tight.

"Hrn," Bruce grunted, "Next time I advise you to use the bed controls, that's what they're there for."

Dick cracked opened an eyelid, to give his mentor a one-eyed glare, _"...you have an uncanny... ability for stating the obvious, you...know that?"_

"Well, it matches your uncanny ability for ignoring the obvious. I assume that makes us even; do you still want to sit up?"

Dick swallowed hard and winced, _"...coffcoff no, I think I'm just going to concentrate on not moving for a while."_

Noting the beads of a cold sweat that now glistened across his son's brow, Bruce leaned across the bed and gently removed Dick's hand from his shoulder, inspecting the sterile-white bandages, to make sure there were no signs of blood or seepage by way of pulled stitches.

Taking note of Dick's breathing and expressions, Bruce could tell that he was in a great deal of pain, "Dick... they've got you on a self-medicating morphine drip here-- do you want a hit?"

Dick weakly shook his head, _"..n-no... not right...now, just-- look at me, Bruce."_

Taking his attention away from Dick's shoulder, Bruce stepped back and looked into Dick's eyes, normally radiant blue, were now dulled by pain, _"...you, Bruce... you are the reason I'm alive... hey, don't turn away from me."_

Bruce sighed then sat back down in the chair he'd occupied for the past five hours, while waiting for his son to wake.

Dick waited for Bruce to look at him again before continuing, _"...you are the reason I'm alive. If it weren't for you... Carlos would have never met me... and you know that's true."_

"Maybe so, but you would have never _needed_ to meet him if I didn't make you come out here in the first place."

"_Bruce, knock it off, already, I'm a coffcoff a big boy now. I can...decide if I want to go somewhere... or not."_

"You say that, but you don't really feel that way, Dick and I know this. I didn't exactly give you much of a choice..."

"_...Bruce,"_ Dick began.

"No, Dick," Bruce said, holding his hand up, "Just, let me say this."

Dick looked at his mentor with concern for a moment before giving him a slow nod and waited for him to continue.

Bruce looked away, _"How do I do this? I've got to tell him how I feel, but how?"_

Bruce was beginning to think he wouldn't be able to express himself, when Clark's words came back to him, _'...don't think about it, don't try so hard. All you have to do is listen to what your heart is saying, then simply echo it.'_

Taking a deep breath, Bruce prepared to take the plunge and allowed his heart to open up enough to hear what it was saying, what it's been trying to tell him for the past thirteen years, "Dick, I just…I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry," Bruce admitted.

"…_coff It wasn't your…fault.."_

"I'm not talking about this trip. Well, this trip too, but, what I mean, is just that…"

"_I know…"_

"No, Dick, I've never told you. After all that happened in this trip-- all that you said out there…"

"_I'm that. I-I don't remember…a lot, but coff It wasn't me talking,..really coff coff I … I'm so…sorry, I cuuuuff coff coff" _Dick tried to reassure Bruce when his body was overcome by violent coughing, leaving him fighting for his breath. Dick clutched at his chest as the ache he had felt with each inhale turned into an angry stabbing sensation as his lungs convulsed uncontrollably; only to move it a moment later to his shoulder, bracing it against his body's involuntary jarring, causing his injury to come alive with a vengeance.

In two quick strides, Bruce was back at Dick's side; immediately realizing this attack was far beyond their to ability to control, he pressed the call button, "Hang on, Dick," said Bruce, as he began to rub his son's sternum in a circular motion, helping his lungs to expulse the offensive junk the pneumonia had forced upon his body, "Come on, concentrate on breathing, just like you did out there-- easy...easy."

"I know it hurts like hell, Dick, but try not to move around, your shoulder's got to stay still," Bruce coaxed, trying to still his son's movements as best he could his other hand as Dick brought his knees up, beginning to squirm from the blinding pain surging throughout his upper body.

"Breathe, Dick. Slowly, don't attempt to take in big breaths. Relax a little, come on, I'm here with you, **_breathe, damn it_,**" Bruce urged, his concern doubling by the second as sweat began raining down the sides of Dick's face, already a shade of deep crimson.

Bruce was just about to open the door and yank in the nearest staff member when the doctor entered and took a couple jogging-steps toward the side of the bed, opposite Bruce, "I'm doctor, Littrell. I'll be his doctor for the night," she stated, while immediately injecting an amber-colored substance into Dick's iv line.

"What's that?" Bruce asked as he continued to rub his son's chest.

"Pneumotussin," the doctor answered without looking up as she placed her stethoscope to Dick's chest, listening to his lungs, "it's a combination expectorant/narcotic cough suppressant-- honey, I'm going to have to ask you to lean forward for me, I need to listen to your lungs from your back," Dr. Littrell explained as she placed a hand to Dick's injured arm, firmly holding it in place as she helped him to sit forward.

"I know that hurts, give _just_ me a second," the doctor soothed as Dick groaned between coughs from the pain the new position added to his already raging shoulder.

"Okay, all done," Littrell said, easing him back down to the pillows.

Frowning at his oxygen saturation levels, the doctor lightly placed her hand to the o2 mask on Dick's face while taking his pulse, "The medicine should be kicking in any second now. I know it seems almost impossible, but, I need you to concentrate on taking nice-- slow, small breaths."

"You're doing good, Dick, slow it down-- breathe...breathe," Bruce coached, leaning over his son, making strong eye contact with him the few times he'd open his eyes.

"When's the last time you took a dose of the morphine?" the doctor asked noting how her patient continued to hold his shoulder.

"_Dun-- coff dunno...four hours... maybe_," Dick whispered, between jagged intakes of oxygen.

"No," Bruce answered matter-of-factly, "It's been much longer than that. I've been here over five and you were sleeping long before that. It must have been the last time one of your staff administered it."

Littrell nodded as she thumbed through Dick's chart, "Well, according to your chart, it's been just under eight hours-- you're definitely due," she said, shutting the manilla folder before picking up the drip controller currently hanging from the bed rail, "You know you're in charge of this, right? When the pain becomes intense enough to where it begins to disrupt your sleep and ability to rest, I want you to take a dose-- It's not just for the comfort, Dick," the doctor explained, up receiving a look of displeasure from her patient, "It is also to allow your body to heal. The more relaxed you are, the less stress it puts on your body, which in turn, allows the healing process to take the front seat."

"_...just...coffcoff...just give me...a minute-- can-- can't just yet... promise, coff five minutes, k?_" Dick tried to bargain only to be answered by his mentor.

"No way, kid. You are going to take a dose and that's final," Bruce said, a touch of the Bat evident to his tone.

"_It's…not that. Just--coff coff wait a …little-- five minutes…don't cuuuff coff coff don't wanna----fall asleep… now. Just five_.." Dick tried to explain between gasps of air.

Bruce sighed and looked at the doctor. "He doesn't want to because..,"

"I'm sorry," the physician said, taking her turn to interrupt, "he can't be in that much pain and expect to…"

"_No…just-- what pain medication?_" Dick asked, cutting off the doctor again.

"Morphine," the doctor said kindly, knowing the pain and fever had her patient confused.

"_No…can't, not…coff coff..._" Dick started to say before closing his eyes, shaking his head weakly when his voice gave out on him.

"Ok, ok" Bruce reassured him with a sigh and placed his good hand to his son's shoulder, knowing the reason why Dick didn't want the drugs to take control over his last bit of drive to stay awake, "Just allow him five minutes-- then I'll _personally_ guarantee that he'll take a dose," Bruce said, flashing a no-nonsense expression to his son.

After looking her patient in the eye for a moment she sighed a deep sigh of defeat then turned to Bruce, "I'm putting you in charge. Five minutes-- he gets a dose; then sleep. I'll be back in ten," Littrell stated, which came across as more of a threat, as she flashed a respectable glare before leaving the room.

"You should take the medication and sleep, Dick." Bruce said gently as he wiped down his son's face with a dry cloth.

Dick opened his eyes and looked up at him through a couple long blinks; cheeks red from fever and exertion, "I will…just…coff coff Bruce, I---didn't mean---what coff what I said – in the…forest. It…it wasn't me talking." Dick tried to stress through labored breaths.

Bruce closed his eyes and shook his head vehemently, "No Dick, it _was_ you. You were right, time and time again, I've hurt you; pushed you out of my life and turned my back on you. I replaced you, Dick. You were Robin, and I gave that name-- _your name_, to another."

"After everything that's happened between us, you've always come back, every time I needed your help-- even when I didn't ask for it, you saw through my pride and were good enough to stay-- to help, knowing no matter what I said... you knew what I needed."

Bruce paused to take a deep breath, suddenly aware that he held his son's hand in his own again. "Dick, I-I just wanted to say that I'm-- sorry, for all of it. I didn't…"

"_Bruce, I know..."_

"Would'ya let me finish?" Bruce stated firmly.

Dick blinked a couple times before giving his mentor a cockeyed grin, _"...o-kay." _

"I didn't want you to come and help because I was afraid-- afraid that something would happen to you. _That's_ why I fired you. When Joker shot you, and you fell, you-- we were lucky enough in that you caught a ledge on the way down. I cold have lost you, Dick and that would have been more than I could bear. _That's_ why I fired you, why I wanted you to quit this life. I didn't want to see you hurt."

"What I failed to see, however, was that you were already hurting, emotionally and I was the cause of that hurt. By pushing you out and not letting you help me, you kept on with this life and you're going keep doing it even if I say the contrary. You're on your own out there, you don't _have _a partner to look out for you-- like I've had for so long now. In my attempts to keep you safe, you've moved onto a different city, fighting crime on your own."

"_Bruce, this…life…I can't just let coffcoff see people get hurt and-- do nothing about it."_

"I know you won't."

Silence settled within the room for a couple seconds before Dick spoke up, _"So..., you disapprove of what I'm doing coff again," _he said, looking down at his hand, resting in the sling.

"No, that's not what I'm saying," Bruce paused, and rubbed his brow a couple times, "Although I don't want you taking these risks, you-- you're doing good work out there, Dick-- and I'm…very proud of you. The pupil has surpassed the teacher," Bruce said looking at his eyes.

Bruce saw a sarcastic smile flash across Dick face for a fraction of a second as he kept his focus down to his hand.

'_Damn, I didn't mean to say just that.' _Bruce thought to himself with a sigh before trying again, "And..." he paused to take hold of Dick's chin and raising his head to look him in the eye, "and-- nothing makes a father more proud, than realizing son has done better than him."

Dick gave a small smile as his throat began to constrict with emotion, "That's what I realized, you always came back-- always helped me. Out of respect, but... not respect for your mentor. I wasn't your mentor anymore. Respect for me, for-- your father."

Dick tried, in vain, to halt the tears welling in his eyes. He didn't know what to say, he was confused, his head was swimming from pain and fatigue. He desperately needed to sleep, but, he couldn't-- not now. He'd been waiting so many years to hear these words from Bruce, and didn't think he'd ever hear all this again. It had always been so hard for Bruce to express his feelings. This moment was too important and he wasn't about to miss it.

"I'm also...sorry for the way that I acted in this trip. I didn't get my priorities correctly and look what happened. And also, for how I acted in the Jeep. You were right, if I paid a little more attention-- it should have been obvious to me that you were coming down with something. If I noticed that, then this whole damn..."

"_Stop it,"_ Dick cut him off, as tears spilled down his face.

Bruce sat back a little, shocked at Dick's sudden tone.

"_You don't need to explain…not anymore, not... to me. We've come a long way, you and me-- Dad," _Dick said, choking back a sob.

Bruce leaned forward and placed his hand palm against the side of Dick's face, "Son, I-- I..."

"_I... coffcoff...I-- love you...too,"_ Dick whispered with a sleepy smile.

Bruce nodded with a straight smile, "No more out of you," he said as he reached over his son to activate the drip, "Time to rest. The more you rest, the sooner can get you out of here and back home."

"...'k," Dick said before forcing his eyes open one last time, "You'll stay?"

"You can count on it," answered Bruce, steel blue eyes making direct contact that conveyed the deep-rooted promise on their own just before his son slipped into the warm, safe state of deep sleep.

His hand still to the side of Dick's face, Bruce stroked his thumb over a flushed cheek once before sitting back against the chair. Watching his son sleeping soundly, he began to contemplate the last few minutes and the things he was finally able to express, things Dick was finally able to hear, _'It's been a long rough road, this trip of ours, but in the end, a road well worth taking.'_

The End.?


End file.
